


Elska

by lal nila syrin (lalnilasyrin)



Category: Danny Phantom, How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Crossover, Family, Friendship, Gen, Night Fury, Original Character(s), Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-22
Updated: 2015-07-06
Packaged: 2018-03-25 07:55:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 113,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3802645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lalnilasyrin/pseuds/lal%20nila%20syrin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some ghosts form out of revenge, other ghosts form out of desire, and then there are the ghosts that form out of something purer. Danny meets the ghost of a dragon who loved so much it couldn't move on, and he finds himself becoming attached to it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fury, Thy Name is Love

**Author's Note:**

> So here I am, writing a new crossover because I got inspired while in a stream with [silvermoonphantom](http://tmblr.co/mcz6mri1VBn9VBmxoUCDYvw), [who drew some DP/HTTYD](http://silvermoonphantom.tumblr.com/post/116869431494/some-doodles-w-friends) at my request and it sort of spiraled from there. ([daitoshi/silvermoonphantom](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Daitoshi/pseuds/Silvermoonphantom) also helped me with… well, a lot of things, as I spent three straight days writing this! So many thanks to them~)
> 
> At first I was really hesitant to start this, especially since HTTYD isn’t something I feel I can grasp the characters really well, but I thought I’d give it a try! For the DP side of things, I was also hesitant to write Dora for similar reasons, but the lack of Dora’s involvement in HTTYD fics really disappointed me, so I’m determined to give her a meaningful role in all of this. Hopefully I do okay!
> 
> As for certain elements in this fanfiction–such as the use of the word “demon”, calling Night Furies “Wind Walkers” (which are from the book), and the “dragons are called by their traits” thing, I admit I take heavy inspiration from How To Befriend A Ghost ([FFN](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7895797/1/How-to-befriend-a-ghost)/[AO3](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3172174/chapters/6889242)), which is one of my favorite DP/HTTYD crossovers ever. I’ll probably be borrowing lots of elements like that, but I’ll be sure to point it out every time I do!
> 
> Anyway~ thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy~

* * *

_**elska**  [ɛl-ska]_  
_Verb, Old Norse._  
_1\. To love._

* * *

Danny gasped when his ghost sense escaped his lips, a thick condensation forming in the air before his face. He blinked his eyes wide open, trying to clear the sleep from his vision, before groaning and reluctantly rolling out of bed.

The darkness of his room was lit by the flash of light that encircled his body, moving across it and changing black hair and blue eyes into snow white and electric green. Rubbing his eyes to clear the sleep sand, he slipped through the floor without ceremony, following the chill running through his core.

Irritably, he grumbled under his breath, “Stupid ghosts, can’t I have one night without...”

“Sir Phantom?”

Danny blinked at the sound of that milky, docile voice, fully awake now. He was in the basement lab, having made his way there unconsciously, and standing in front of the swirling green portal to the netherworld known as the Ghost Zone was the blue-clad, blonde-haired princess of Aragon, Dorathea. He straightened immediately, and she cracked a smile, a small giggle escaping her lips.

“Princess Dora--sorry, I thought you were, you know, one of those guys who constantly try to beat me up.” Danny grinned sheepishly, bowing graciously if only to apologize for his irritated words. Dora was one of his few allies in the Ghost Zone, after all, and he would never be mean to them if he could help it--plus, ticking Dora off usually had fiery consequences.

“It’s not a problem, Sir Phantom,” Dora nodded when he straightened, “I should be the one apologizing, as I’m sure it’s rather late here and I must have woken you.”

“Uh, yeah, but--that’s okay,” Danny tilted his head, “but you usually never come to the Real World. Why are you here? Is something wrong? Did Aragon escape or something?”

Dora grimaced weakly, nodding. “Well, it’s nothing of that caliber, I assure you, but... something did happen, and I would like to request your help. If it’s not too much trouble, may we speak on the way?”

The white-haired ghost boy blinked, nodding. “Of course.” Idly, he wondered what could have been the problem, but he floated through the portal with Dora, glancing around the swirling green abyss as he flew alongside her.

“As you know, my brother and I--as well as many of our ancestors--inherited the amulet which allows us to turn into dragons.” Dora began explaining, “I myself have never seen a live dragon, of course--almost all of them were extinct by my time.”

“Wait,  _extinct_ \--does that mean dragons really existed at one point?” Danny asked with wide, awed eyes, bewildered at the thought that had never crossed his mind before. “Cool!”

“Indeed, cool,” Dora chuckled, “but yes, of course they existed at one point--my dragon form is not a completely fabricated image, after all. I digress--my point is, they’re extinct.” She glanced over to her friend, who lifted an eyebrow quizzically at her. He obviously didn’t get her implication. “Which means they’re dead, like us. And, of course... dead creatures form the occasional ghosts.”

“Oh!” Danny’s eyes widened again, “Wow, I didn’t know--I mean, I only ever saw you and Aragon as dragons, but... you guys are just humans--err,  _were_  humans who turned into dragons, so...”

Dora nodded, turning forward and stopping at the edge of her kingdom territory. Danny touched down beside her, looking around the forested area as she led the way back to her castle on foot.

“Let me guess, then... you must be having a dragon problem. A ghost dragon problem,” he ventured, “but why get me? Couldn’t you just go dragon and talk to it?”

“I  _tried_ ,” Dora bit her lip, “but it’s angry, and it won’t listen to reason. It attacked me when I tried to go near, in both forms.”

“Oh,” Danny grimaced. He paused at seeing the large burn marks across the trees, streaks of fires long burnt out and craters on the ground like lightning struck. “So, what, you want me to help you take it down, like we took down Aragon?”

“Something like that...” Dora wrung her hands helplessly, “You are the strongest ghost I know, Sir Phantom, as well as the  _kindest_. I was hoping you could calm it down, not just take it down. Knocking it out just seems like it would make it angrier, and it might attack my people again--if we could understand why it’s angry, and assuage it, perhaps it will leave us on its own.”

“Like taking the thorn from the lion’s paw?” Danny mused, “Okay, I’ll try my best--can’t be that hard right?”

“Perhaps harder than you might think--it’s a real dragon, after all. It doesn’t exactly speak our language.” Dora pointed out, “And... if my research on the beast is correct... it may very well be a Night Fury.”

The ghost boy blinked dumbly. “A... a what?”

“A Night Fury--long, long ago, in the ancient past, Night Furies were the most fearsome of dragons, black as night and quicker than lightning. They shoot plasma from their mouths, and I’ve read tale that they’re very territorial. This one seems to be as well.” Dora explained, stopping just outside her castle, “Not only that, there are legends that its strength rivals that of the Red Death and the other Death Dragons, and even that of Bewilderbeasts--all of which are known to be alpha species.”

“Alpha species?” Danny tilted his head, glancing around where they stopped. They were standing on the bridge over the moat, the dark stone of the castle wall looming over them, somehow looking brighter than the last time Danny had really looked at them, which was when Aragon was ruling. It probably had to do with the sun that Dora had brought out when she took over.

“Like queen bees, they’re dragons which hold a lot of control over other dragons, though I’m not quite sure how this control worked.” Dora shook her head, turning to the castle doors and waving at her guardsmen to open them. The massive wooden entrance creaked as two guards pushed them just wide enough for the pair to get through.

The princess and the half-ghost hero slipped through without much commotion, and the doors shut behind them with a loud bang, making Danny flinch and look over his shoulder. He quickly turned his attention back to Dora when she continued speaking, though.

“But back to the Night Fury--we didn’t see much of it when it attacked, but that is typical of its style of hunting. I only managed to see more of it when I confronted it in my other form, but I’m sure it’s a Night Fury. And... honestly if I weren’t a ghost, I’d probably be dead. I lost quite badly in my confrontation.”

Danny frowned and looked closely at her, searching her for any wide gaping wounds, but when he saw none, he nodded in satisfaction. “Alright, so it’s powerful and... apparently, bad news. I can see why you wanted my help.” He murmured, “Is there anything else I should know about it before I try to face it? Where is it, anyway?”

Dora led him into the courtyard, ordering her guards to bring some armor for Sir Phantom. “I don’t have much else, but after it attacked, it fled north to a cluster of islands between my kingdom and the maze of Pandora. I think it’s still residing there.”

“Gotcha. I’ll go face it, come back to let you know how it went, and hopefully get back before school starts.” Danny sighed at that last thought, blinking when a guard approached them and handed him a bundle of armor and a shield.

“I am truly sorry about the inconvenience of all of this,” Dora said apologetically again, “but I’m infinitely grateful for your help, Sir Phantom. The armor and shield are for you--they will hopefully protect you from the Night Fury’s plasma blasts.”

“No sword?” Danny chuckled, and at Dora’s nearly appalled look he shook his head. “No, I know, I get it. I’m not going to slay it, just talk it down.”

“It got angry when we used swords,” Dora mentioned quietly, “and I wouldn’t want you caught in its wrath as we were.”

“I’ll be fine. If things get too heated, my ice powers should help, after all.” Danny smiled reassuringly at her, clumsily getting into the armor and strapping the shield to his back. “I think I’m all set, then, and the sooner I get this done the sooner I can get back to sleep. So which way is north?”

~~~

Danny flew through the sulfuric air of the Ghost Zone, looking around occasionally to try spotting the islands that Dora mentioned. He frowned, slowing down as he spotted a forested cluster of asteroid-like rocks, its dark green firs spiraling into the acidic sky almost menacingly, almost foreboding, as if it was hiding something huge.

 _Yeah, this is definitely the right place._  He thought, adjusting the helmet Dora had given him before he dove down, landing at the edge of the forest.

“Does it live here?” He wondered, his eyebrows furrowing, “Why did it attack Dora’s kingdom then...?”

The metal of the armor clanked as he moved forward, his footsteps breaking fallen branches under his feet, and the echo of crunching leaves fled into the darkness the further in he went.

He cringed, wishing he could make less noise, but he figured that if the dragon ghost knew he was there through the sounds he made, then it’d either come to him or at least not be startled when he approached. He shivered, wishing his ghost sense worked in the Ghost Zone, but the everlasting chill of the ghostly realm made it useless.

A roar shook the ground, deep and loud and screeching, and Danny jumped with wide eyes because had it been twice as loud it might have rivaled his Ghostly Wail. He tensed, bracing his feet on the ground as the rumbles continued, and he could hear entire trunks being snapped in half as whatever had roared barreled through the forest.

“Ahh!” He yelped, diving out of the way when a dark shadow zoomed past his vision, and the groaning creak of falling timber was the only warning he had before a large fir landed right where he had been standing before.

He turned around with his eyes darting about in alert, but the creature that had knocked over the tree was gone.

“Right, ghost dragon, it can probably turn invisible.” He muttered to himself nervously, spinning around to keep his back protected from staying in place too long.

He froze at a hot breath tickling the back of his neck, though, and threw up a shield just in time to block a bright, white-blue blast.

“Whoa, hey! Hey!” He shouted loudly, “I’m not here to hurt you!”

His cries went unheard, but when he dropped the shield and looked up, two glowing, neon green eyes met his, constricted like an angry cat’s would be. He gulped when he realized that the dragon--because that was definitely the dragon, even if he couldn’t see the rest of its body when it was concealed in shadow--was  _huge_.

It towered over him, almost as tall as the trees, growling at him--its mouth lit up in blue energy as it prepared to fire once more.

“Wait!” He shouted at it desperately, flinching when it narrowed its eyes at him--okay, so maybe it  _could_  understand him? Well, he’d have to risk it. “Look, no weapons, see? I’m not here to harm you,” he held up his hands to show the dragon he was unarmed, but the clanking of metal made it sneer threateningly at him.

Thinking fast, he threw the gauntlets aside and kicked off the knee guards, unstrapping the shield. “Look, see,” he held it up cautiously, his eyes not leaving the dragon’s, “I’m unarmed, and I’m not going to be protected--err, physically,” he said slowly, putting the shield down at his feet. The dragon’s eyes followed him warily, and he stood up and took a step back from the piece. Carefully, he took off his helmet too, tossing it next to the shield.

The dragon flinched when it clanged against the metal shield, and Danny watched in surprise as the plasma in its mouth died down, shrouding the forest in darkness save for their glowing eyes.

“I just wanted to see what was wrong--I’m here to help you...” Danny started slowly, holding out his hands in a placating manner and hoping he wasn’t coming off as threatening somehow. He grinned nervously, trying to get a better look at the dragon and see if it was injured somewhere...

And then the dragon lunged, and Danny screamed as a large, clawed paw was suddenly shoving him down.

“Wait! Wha--oh, crud--!”

The dragon growled angrily in his face, roaring with a mighty sound that pushed his hair back with a warm wind. Suddenly he realized why it had been called a Night Fury--the thing was the embodiment of both, and it was freaking  _scary_. It was scarier than a lot of the enemies he had to face before--those enemies had been easy to face when all he had to do was beat them up and send them home. He couldn’t do that this time, not when he was trying to placate it--and being unable to use his power against it for that reason made him nervous. He looked up at it fearfully, instinctively trying to go intangible before he remembered that didn’t work in the Ghost Zone while he was in ghost mode.

He struggled under its massive paw, his eyes wide and his breath stuck in his throat as the dragon glared down at him, its eyes dilating and constricting as if it couldn’t make up its mind about if it needed its night vision or something.

And then suddenly the pressure on his chest lifted, and he stayed statue still as the dragon backed off, staring at him with eyes that had settled between angry slits and... was that suspicion or curiosity?

Danny sat up slowly, his green gaze still stuck on the dragon’s--and it blinked, seeming confused by something. He stayed still for a long time, trying to figure out what it was thinking, staring at his eyes so intensely.

Carefully, he stood to his full height, and asked dumbly, “Uh... does this mean you’re not going to eat me?”

It hissed lowly at his voice, but otherwise didn’t advance again. It crouched there, still tense as far as Danny could tell--and he was tense too, so he really couldn’t blame it--and Danny silently debated what to say to it next, seeing that it seemed willing to listen to him.

“I don’t know if you can understand me,” he said in a measured tone, “but I really am here to help you... please, if you could just tell me what’s wrong somehow...”

The look of confusion from before only grew in the dragon’s eyes, and if Danny squinted he could see the frills on the sides of the creature’s head flaring slightly as if in contemplation. Danny blinked, and for a moment he could have sworn he saw his own reflection in those huge green eyes--and suddenly he thought, “Your eyes are the same color as mine...”

The Night Fury tilted its head sharply, and he flinched, a blush tinting his cheeks in embarrassment when he realized he had spoken the thought out loud. But instead of the dragon’s alertness stemming from suspicion like it had been doing all this time, this time its eyes sparked with curiosity, and it craned its short neck forward just a little, sniffing at Danny experimentally.

Danny stayed still, eyeing the beast almost as warily as it had been eyeing him before, wondering if it would change its mind and try to eat him. But, as it got closer, he could see it clearer--large scales patterned its head, and the shadows of tattered wings spread out behind it, the tips of its wing-fingers steaming with misty particles as if the dragon hadn’t yet finished stabilizing its ectoplasm.

The ghost boy paused at that, looking at the Night Fury more closely now, studying its form--it didn’t look completely solid, though if the pain in his back was any indication, it was certainly solid enough. Aside from the steaming particles, greenish goop dripped slightly from its nostrils and jaws, and he was sure that what he could see of its tail was also dripping the slime. He had only ever seen ectoplasm this unstable when a ghost hadn’t fully formed yet.

 _This is a young ghost,_  he realized with wide eyes.  _It might not even know it’s dead._

“No wonder you attacked everyone...” Danny breathed, and the dragon flinched back at the sudden whisper, “This world must be really new and strange to you... you’re  _scared_.”

The dragon gazed at him almost incredulously, for some reason, before it narrowed its eyes indignantly and abruptly turned. It fled deeper into the woods, disappearing into the shadows before he could even process the first look it had given him.

Confused but not sure what else to do, because he was sure he wouldn’t be able to find the dragon again tonight, Danny grabbed his armor back, and flew from the forest island.

~~~

“It’s a new ghost,” Danny informed Dora after he returned the stuff she lent him. They were making a slow flight back to his portal, since he did need to get back, and Dora had wanted to know what happened. “I think it’s just scared of its new surroundings, that’s why it attacked you.”

“That makes sense,” Dora frowned, “But... Night Furies went extinct ages ago, how could the ghost be so young?”

“Time in the Ghost Zone is relative,” Danny pointed out, “I mean, portals all over the Zone open to different time eras, and I wouldn’t be surprised if ghosts formed similarly. You said your brother ruled over the kingdom for sixteen hundred years, remember? But from what I learned in history, the medieval era you came from happened about a thousand years ago. I think your kingdom formed in the Ghost Zone six hundred years earlier than the time you died in--so like I said, time is relative.”

“Ah, good point, Sir Phantom... goodness, has it been that long already?” Dora mused, pulling her braid over her shoulder and fiddling with it idly, “But I suppose if that’s true, then that Night Fury forming at this time means it’s about... twelve hundred years away from its own time? Maybe two thousand, even.”

“Relative to my time, at least,” Danny nodded, stopping in front of his portal, “so it’s really no wonder it’s so scared.” He paused, turning to face Dora before he exited the portal to go home. “I don’t know what I did to stop it from attacking me, but... it’s not exactly been placated yet, so it might still cause some trouble. Be careful, okay? I’ll come back after school or tomorrow night and see if I can get through to it again.”

Dora nodded. “I think I should go with you, next time, then. Perhaps I can find a way to communicate with it, if you could keep it calm while I’m there. Stop by my kingdom before you go next time, alright?”

Danny nodded resolutely. “Will do. See you later, Princess Dora!”

~~~

Danny wasn’t really sure what he was looking for when he came back to the island with Dora. There wasn’t any sign of the Night Fury, and for a moment he thought that maybe it had moved on from this tiny piece of rock.

Still, he and Dora searched through the forest for any sign of the mysterious green-eyed dragon. The trees were packed thick together, and now that he thought about it, it was amazing that the Night Fury hadn’t had much trouble navigating through it despite its large size.

“Um... hello?” Danny called out uncertainly, “I come in peace again?”

Dora glanced at him in amusement, smiling a bit. “Perhaps I should call it out with my dragon form? Even if it might attack me, at least it will come here...”

“No, don’t do something that risky, Princess,” Danny shook his head, “I’m sure we can find it if we just look a bit more... do you know where Night Furies like to hang out?”

“Unfortunately, no,” Dora shook her head, “Long before the species could be properly observed, they went practically extinct--and the only one that anyone was able to keep records of was a highly tamed young one that was mostly raised in captivity.”

“Hmm,” Danny grunted, “Well, it’s better than nothing. What do you got?”

“They apparently lived near the ocean or bodies of water, and were often observed to be fond of hanging from high places when they slept, like bats.” Dora tapped her chin in thought, “Seeing as there isn’t an ocean near here, nor a lake as far as I know, perhaps we should be looking up?”

Danny blinked, and met Dora’s eyes briefly before they simultaneously turned their gaze upward. Danny was a little disappointed that the dragon wasn’t conveniently hanging up there in their line of sight.

“The canopy is rather dark, so it could be hiding up there... perhaps a light would do.” Dora frowned. “Would you do the honors, Sir Phantom?”

“Sure,” Danny held out his hand, forming a brightly glowing ball of green light. He sent it upward to float above their heads, and without much other word, the two of them continued walking through the forest, looking around and up for the wayward draconic spirit.

The forest was quiet except for their footsteps, and it stayed that way for a long time--several minutes, or maybe half an hour or so had passed before they caught the distant echoes of another set of treading steps, quick and light on the forest ground.

Dora heard it first, her ears perking as she sniffed the air--she might not have been born a dragon, but she had lived with her other half long enough to pick up some of its innate abilities. She could scent the dragon from a mile away, and it was getting closer by the second.

She gasped, spinning around to face Danny, a warning halfway through her lips before a large black shadow jumped from the trees behind them...

...and pounced on their orb of light.

Danny sputtered in shock at the sudden appearance of the dragon, the light going out when the shadow had broken his concentration. He and Dora quickly backed up, their eyes wide as they watched the dragon crouch low to the ground and... peek under its paws?

Danny blinked at the nearly cat-like behavior of the Night Fury as it hissed in confusion when it lifted its claws and found them empty, and it looked around for the light it had been trying to catch like small mouse.

Its emerald green eyes landed on the ghostly pair, and its growls became threatening.

“Whoa, uh--hey? It’s me, you remember me right?” Danny gulped, stepping forward. He met its eyes and it gazed curiously back at him, but then it shifted its gaze to Dora and it grumbled suspiciously at her.

But seeing that the dragon wasn’t attacking right away, Dora took it as a good sign and attempted to communicate with it. “I mean you no harm, either, Night Fury. And I am not a ‘demon’ as you think I am--or at least, not the evil kind.” She stood straighter, her head held high as she looked up at the beast without trembling, “We simply came to speak with you.”

It made a low guttural sound, sitting back on its haunches, though it was still tense, as if ready to fight at any moment.

“I simply wanted to know why you attacked my people, and to ask you to stop.” Dora continued.

The Night Fury narrowed its eyes, making another rumbling, hissing sound. Dora’s eyebrows raised in surprise. Danny glanced over at her, confused.

“Wait, it can understand us? For real? And you can understand what it’s saying?”

Dora nodded. “Yes... well, sort of, it’s guessing what we’re saying based on our tones, but I’m speaking with a bit of my dragon tongue behind my voice,” she explained. “As for what it said, it is saying, ‘humans attacked me, hurt me badly, separated me from my nest,’ and... it doesn’t trust us.” She shifted her gaze between the two whose eyes were nearly identical in color, “It said my people had weapons like the ones it faced before... I should have known better, Night Fury. I apologize for the actions we took before, we were simply trying to defend ourselves. We won’t do it again.”

The Night Fury watched in growing confusion as Dora curtsied politely and deeply, tilting its head. Danny’s eyebrows furrowed, wondering why the dragon was so calm now, when it had indeed attacked Dora’s kingdom before. Its growl rumbled through its throat again, and Dora straightened in surprise.

“Th... thank you for apologizing? There’s really no need, even if you were simply scared. It was my people at fault, so I take responsibility.”

“I didn’t know it could be humble like that.” Danny commented, tilting his head up at the large dragon. It stared back at him in confusion. He fidgeted after a moment, looking over at his friend. “Uh... mind asking it why it keeps looking at me like that?”

Dora chuckled, repeating the question for him. The dragon didn’t look back at her as it replied, and Dora stared in surprise when she translated out loud, “Your eyes remind it of its kin.”

“Eh?” Danny blinked, pointing at his eyes, “My...?”

“That’s why it let you go the first time.” Dora translated again when it made another low throaty sound, “You reminded it of itself, of its children...” Dora’s eyes widened. “ _Wait_ \--excuse me, Night Fury--you had children?”

The dragon narrowed its eyes and looked over at Dora, snarling. She flinched back, and Danny stepped over to her a little protectively.

“What did it say?”

“Humans separated it from its children. It--it wants to find out what happened to them, or to kill the humans that caused all of this.”

Danny’s breath hitched. So now he knew the ghost dragon’s obsession--the reason a creature like this formed a ghost in the first place... was a desire so strong it was bound to continue on after death. It wanted either revenge against its hunters--for what else could have faced the dragon--or the satisfaction of knowing its family was alright.

But...

“Does it remember how it got here? What happened when the humans separated it from its children?” Danny asked quietly, glancing over at Dora.

Dora repeated the question uncertainly, and the Night Fury snarled angrily again.

“It was fighting to protect its nesting grounds... the humans came with weapons of shining metal, and there was a large human with a frightening voice... it doesn’t remember what happened after trying to fight against that human, but the next thing it knew, it was waking up here, in this forest.” Dora relayed, “It... it’s demanding to leave this strange world that smells of death and demons... it wants to go home, to find its children.”

Danny’s eyes grew sad and apologetic. The dragon really didn’t know it was dead. He looked up at the dragon, but it was looking away now, muttering at the trees. “Wow... I’m so sorry, but... I don’t think that’s possible.”

The dragon’s head snapped back at his tone, bemusement evident. Dora shook her head remorsefully, repeating what he said, but then adding hesitantly, “This is the land of the dead, Night Fury. You are, as you put it, a demon, just as we are.”

The beast’s eyes constricted into paper-thin slits at the revelation, and it roared fiercely at them. Dora jumped, her eyes wide, and she grabbed Danny’s hand. “Uh--Sir Phantom, I believe this is the part where we run.” She squeaked, quickly tugging him through the trees.

The Night Fury was charging up a bright blue plasma blast in its mouth, rearing up on its hind legs intimidatingly. Danny didn’t think twice about running after Dora, sweeping her up in a bridal hold as his legs disappeared into a spectral tail, and the two of them fled from the forest.

Bright, fiery lights and booms like thunder echoed behind them, and the dragon’s haunting, melancholy, desperate wails tugged painfully at Danny’s heartstrings.

Unstable ghosts just barely forming in the Ghost Zone, who didn’t know they were dead, usually had explosive reactions when they found out or realized it on their own. Danny had never encountered such a ghost before, having only heard tales of it from his allies, but to hear the cries of that dragon for himself...

He wished he could do something. But what could he do to quell the mourning of the dead?

~~~

“Guys, what should I do?” Danny moaned as he slumped against the picnic table in the school courtyard, running his hand through raven black hair in frustration. “I know it’s not exactly my responsibility, but I really want to help the guy, yet... I don’t know how!”

“Well, on the bright side,” Tucker commented, glancing up from his PDA, “the guys who killed it are probably long dead by now. Maybe if you tell it that it’ll be a little happier?”

“Somehow I don’t think that’ll help.” Sam rolled her eyes, forking some salad into her mouth, “You said that it really just wanted to go home right?”

“Well yeah, but it’s from like, thousands of years ago--and maybe from even before that,” Danny waved his hand with a deep frown, “I can’t exactly get it to its home--the place probably doesn’t even exist anymore. I mean, come on, dragons are  _myths_  here, Sam. They must’ve been extinct so long people didn’t even think they were real anymore.”

“But it was a ghost formed outside of its own time--if it was temporally displaced when it came to the Zone, why can’t it displace itself again to find a way home?” Sam shrugged, “Or you could find the ghosts of its kids or something, I don’t know. Though next time you go to Dora’s, let me know, won’t you? I haven’t seen her in forever.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Danny sighed, leaning his head on his hand as he reached for his own lunch, nibbling on it idly. He was lost deep in thought, churning over what Sam said in his head.

_Temporally displace itself huh..._

~~~

Danny floated above the forested island, tense as he searched the trees for any sign of the black dragon. He saw some fire damage here and there, but nothing to indicate where the dragon was now...

And then he saw a large clearing--obviously made by the dragon, judging by the charcoal black marks on the ground--and decided that maybe this was the best place to start. He touched down, chewing his bottom lip as he looked around.

He jumped in surprise at the nearly ear-splitting roar that reached his range of hearing, and he spun around fearfully.

He gulped down the lump in his throat, swallowing thickly because now that he could see the dragon clearly in the eerie green daylight of the Ghost Zone, it was a lot scarier than it was when it was just a vague shadow in the darkness of the woods.

It was easily four stories tall, and as black as the shadows had made it seem even in the light, though at the right angles its scales flashed a deep, beautiful dark blue. Two large wings spread behind it menacingly, and he could see horrifying and painful-looking cuts and holes and scars in the leathery appendages. Green-hued saliva dripped from its teeth and dragged behind it from an unformed--or at least, not completely formed--tail. It was stalking toward him like a tiger on a hunt, its legs wound tight as if ready to spring at any moment, and its eyes narrowed accusingly at him.

“Wait, hey--don’t hurt me!” Danny yelped, holding up his hands in surrender, hastily babbling, “I swear, I didn’t come here to hurt you and I’m really sorry about what happened last time but look I’m alone right now so I can’t really understand what you’re saying and I don’t think you can understand me but please just hear me out!”

The dragon growled at him, baring its teeth threateningly, but it didn’t advance, hunched in its hunting position several feet in front of him.

“Look, I really meant it the first time when I said I wanted to help you,” Danny pleaded softly, lowering his hands when he felt the dragon wouldn’t attack, “I’m really sorry about your death, really--it... happens. I mean, in my time dragons are extinct anyway, so... I mean, I guess your family would be dead too. But that probably won’t make you feel better, you want to see them alive right? I don’t know what to do about getting you home, because I’m sure Clockwork won’t let me time travel just for this, but... I’ll try to ask, and if that doesn’t work I’ll think of something else to help you, okay?”

The anger in its eyes seemed to melt away the longer he talked--it left nothing but mourning behind, and it slowly relaxed out of its crouch. Even if the Night Fury didn’t understand Danny, the ghost boy was at least grateful it had a level of empathy, somehow.

Danny gave a wry smile to the dragon, looking down. “I may still have my family... but I know what it’s like to lose them. So I’ll try my best to reunite yours with you, somehow. You must love them a lot, to become a ghost for them...”

The slow padding of claws reached his ears, and he kept carefully still as he saw the dragon’s shadow fall over him. He stiffened when the dragon leaned its head down and sniffed at him, and then he felt a gentle nudge against his chest as the dragon bumped its nose against him.

He blinked in surprise, looking up, but the dragon had already pulled back and retreated, slinking away across the burnt clearing.

He smiled a little, standing there and watching it as it fired plasma at the ground and stamped on the newly warmed spot in a circle before it settled down and curled up. It tilted his head up to the sky and gave a mournful cry, like a wolf howling to its untouchable love on the moon.

Danny’s smile became sad, and feeling that his message had gotten through, he lifted himself into the air and flew away, leaving the dragon to its own grief.

~~~

“Clockwork, can’t we do  _anything_  to help it? It’s not going to change the course of history is it?” Danny begged his ancient friend, who’s aged form glared down at him.

“I thought you had learned this lesson already, young Danny--you should not mess with the time stream.” His form changed to that of a child as he turned away, looking through his viewing screens.

“Yeah, but that was for a stupid reason--I’m not doing this to stop one of Vlad’s evil schemes this time. I really just want to help the poor creature out, okay?” Danny begged, “Pleeease? I won’t even do anything, if you help me just get it back to the right time era I can leave it there and it can live out the rest of its ghostly existence in its own time!”

The Master of Time shifted to his adult form, but he didn’t look back at Danny. “ _Its own time era_  is extremely superstitious--and while not all the charms worked against ‘demons’, as the ghosts of their culture were called, do you really think it’s a good idea to leave the Night Fury there, where it will more likely be driven out and hunted?”

Danny gasped, his eyes widening. “I--I didn’t think of that.” He mumbled, looking down at the ground and scuffing his shoe against it, dejected. “There must be something I can do, though...”

“Perhaps the answer will come to you in time.” Clockwork chuckled, and the half-ghost superhero looked up at him, nonplussed. The blue-skinned ghost merely smiled mysteriously as Danny realized that while Clockwork had rejected his plea for help, he had just implied that Danny would find a way to help the dragon eventually.

He brightened considerably, giving Clockwork a quick hug before he jumped in the air. “Thanks, Clockwork. I’ll think on that!” He grinned cheekily at Clockwork’s mildly surprised expression, saluting before he dashed through the door, disappearing from the clock tower.

Clockwork chortled, turning back to his viewing screens.

~~~

Danny sat down on the plasma-burnt ground of the dragon’s clearing--he had managed to find it there again a few days after their last encounter, and he idly wondered if it had ever even left the place.

Tucker was covering for him back at the house, because going to see a large possibly man-eating dragon wasn’t his idea of fun, and the idea of stopping by Aragon horrified him more because his technology didn’t work there. Sam had come with him to the Ghost Zone, and was currently visiting with Dora--Danny had been there too, but he had stepped back for a breather when the girls had started talking about the politics of running a monarchy.

Thus, he found himself here, sitting quietly near the Night Fury and pointedly not making eye contact with it. He was content to allow the beast to come to him--and hopefully not eat him, of course. It helped that the Night Fury didn’t seem to mind his presence either.

However, instead of ignoring him as it had been doing when he first arrived, the big black dragon was now watching him curiously as he drew shapes in the air with his glowing green ectoplasm. It ears were perked and the frills on the side of its head were folding in and out in interest. At some point, he had made a ball and started tossing it between his hands, testing just how solid he could make it, and out of the corner of his eye he could see the dragon’s head following its trajectory intensely.

So he wasn’t entirely surprised when the dragon suddenly pounced forward, and he rolled out of the way just in time to dodge the playful attack. He stood up and watched as the dragon peeked under its paws like it did the first time, looking for the light it had caught, and Danny grinned.

“I knew it,” he laughed, “You really are just like a big cat! You like chasing shiny things don’t you?”

The dragon gave an irked growl when it realized its catch had gotten away from it again, and Danny held up his hand, creating another orb. It looked up at him with wide, dilated eyes.

With a big, mischievous grin, Danny sent the ball of light across the clearing--and predictably, the dragon went after it.

He spent the rest of the afternoon playing ectoplasmic-catch with the dragon, which was about as fun as leading a cat on with a laser pointer, until it realized he was the cause of the disappearing light and it pounced on him instead.

“Ugah!” He yelped, pinned once more under the large padded claws--but this time, there was no pressure, and he could tell the dragon wasn’t trying to crush him. “Okay, okay, sorry! You caught me!”

The dragon gave an almost fond huff of annoyance, backing off and sitting in front of him. He laughed, holding out his hand to summon another light ball, but the dragon abruptly nudged his hand with its snout, and he stopped.

Its leathery skin was warm under his cooled palm--it was odd for a ghost to be so hot, Danny thought, but then again this one breathed fire and lightning, so the warmth wasn’t unexpected. Its big green eyes met his, its mournful gaze becoming mirrored in his own green orbs, but he could see something else in its eyes now--something like gratitude.

He splayed his fingers across its large nose, the pebbly texture of its scales pushing against his palm even through his gloves, and felt a spark of the creature’s emotions shoot through him.

Sadness, anger, longing, joy, appreciation.

“...You’re welcome,” he whispered gently when the dragon nuzzled into his hand, “I’m glad I could lift your spirits a bit, even if you’re still mourning.”

The dragon pushed into his hand gingerly before it backed off, and it turned and ambled away, its “thank you” having been said.

~~~

The Night Fury had, after fully realizing its death, taken some time to readjust to its new form--ectoplasmic particles eventually stopped steaming off it, though its tail still dripped every now and then, and it seemed to have gained a more purposefully misty appearance.

Danny also found out that the newborn ghost had finally come into its basic powers after its ectoplasm stabilized itself, when he went to visit his new friend with Dora once more--he had been looking around the burnt clearing for the Night Fury when it appeared out of thin air and pounced on him, much to his and Dora’s surprise.

“I see you’ve learned how to use invisibility.” Danny laughed, pushing the large black claw off him, “Congratulations? Geez, this just makes you scarier.”

The dragon made a sound akin to a purr, obviously proud of itself for having mastered the skill. Dora smiled, shaking her head.

“It is good to see you are adjusting, Night Fury,” Dora nodded in greeting, though the dragon still looked suspiciously at her, rather than with the affection it seemed to show Danny.

It made a sound of curiosity at her, and she tilted her head. “It’s also good to know you’ve been figuring out English. I suppose it is surely easier when I’m here, seeing as I speak with both of the human and dragon tongues.” She paused as the dragon responded, and she giggled. “Why? I am somewhat of a dragon myself, Night Fury--I was the sky-colored one you faced when you came to my kingdom. That is how I came to speak your language.”

Danny almost laughed when the dragon made a sound similar to the obvious “oh” response, grinning widely. “We actually came here with a proposal!” He said excitedly, and the dragon tilted its head at him, its interest piqued. Encouraged, Danny continued, “Princess Dora said Night Furies like privacy, but it was only speculation since she only read about one. So we thought we’d ask you! If you don’t mind, do you want to come live in Princess Dora’s kingdom?”

The dragon made an indignant face, stomping one foot with a huff. Dora giggled at its pouting response. “Sorry--a lot about your species is unknown, so we’re only making guesses... but it must get rather lonely around here, does it not? Aside from that, I thought it might be nice to have someone to talk to,” she smiled kindly. The dragon turned its head to stare at her, a skeptical frown coloring its expression. She grimaced, amending, “I assure you, my people will not attack you again. Though Sir Phantom does tell me of a hunter that may try to add you to his collection, and he is not so kind--I can give you protection within my domain, at the very least, if you do not wish to live in close proximity of the castle.”

The dragon hummed in thought, sitting back on its haunches, its tail swaying behind it. It made a few guttural sounds, seemingly muttering to itself.

The dragon looked between the pair, blowing a hot breath against their faces when it huffed. Dora looked mildly appalled by whatever it said next. “I beg your pardon! I may be physically a teenager, but I assure you I am well over sixteen hundred years old! And I have plenty of control over my people!”

Danny blinked at the non-sequitur. “What did it say?”

“It called me ‘little one’ and said it questioned the ruling abilities of someone so young! I am only slightly smaller than it in my dragon form, goodness.” Dora blushed, looking up at the dragon as it made a sound like a laugh. “I am ancient, I am--oh. So you  _are_  older than me--but still! I have many years on you, in terms of being a ghost! And even if it has been a short time, my people listen quite well to me, thank you very much!”

The dragon’s eyes twinkled with mirth, shaking its head and looking over at Danny. Dora crossed her arms, frowning as she listened to the whisper of its low hissing voice.

“I’m sure Sir Phantom would come visit more often, Night Fury. He seems to have grown fond of you.” Dora cracked a smile, watching in amusement as the ghost boy blushed and tried to shush her. The dragon made an inquisitive purr, leaning over to the pair. Danny stopped his flustering to look up at its mystifying green eyes.

He could tell that the dragon had grown fond of him as well, if only because he, for some reason, reminded the dragon of its children.

“I know you wanted to be with your family,” Danny said softly, reaching up to pet it like he had done before, “but we don’t know how long it will be before that can happen... so in the meantime, it would be nice if you could find a place to  _be_ , here in the Ghost Zone. Someplace safe, where you’ll have friends--I know that’s what I would want, if I were ever in your place.”

The Night Fury nudged his hand once before it backed off, turning and padding back to the burnt patch of ground it had previously claimed as its sleeping spot. Dora smiled sympathetically and turned to her half-ghost companion.

“It seems, Sir Phantom, that the Night Fury needs time to think about what to do.”

“Understandable, I guess.” Danny sighed, “I just hope Skulker doesn’t hear about the guy, I’d hate if anything happened to it.”

“I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for him while you’re away, Sir Phantom--”

The dragon had looked back over to them curiously, interjecting into their conversation with a snort.

Dora blinked her glowing red eyes slowly. “...What do you mean ‘what is a Phantom’? That is his name.” Her eyebrows furrowed, and then the dragon reminded her of why it seemed unfamiliar with their address of each other. “Ah, yes, it  _is_  the human custom to address one by their name.” The dragon replied to the princess with a mystified look in its eyes, looking almost as if it quirked an eyebrow. “Well, yes, we are ‘demons’ and I’m not technically a human, but even demons call each other by name. However, demons we may be, we  _were_  once humans, and Sir Phantom still  _is_  one.”

“Eh?” Danny glanced between them, “Oh, we never did properly introduce ourselves, huh. I’m Danny--Danny Phantom.”

“Ah, yes, and I am Princess Dorathea of Aragon,” Dora curtsied in greeting, “It is a pleasure to meet you, Night Fury.”

Danny glanced at his friend before he looked back at the dragon. “You’ve been calling this guy Night Fury for a while now,” he commented, “is that like, dragon courtesy or something?”

Dora opened her mouth to answer, but the Night Fury made a sound like a bark, making Danny flinch back a bit.

“Uh, did I offend it somehow?” He shifted uneasily, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

“No, it is wondering why we keep calling it ‘Night Fury’.” Dora explained, then turned to the black dragon with knitted eyebrows. “I thought it was was only polite to call a strange dragon by its respective species. That is your race, is it not?” She asked it, confused. It growled a response, snorting indignantly and turning its gaze away. “I see... yes, it  _is_  the name humans have given your kin, I suppose. What are you called, then, if not a Night Fury?”

The dragon lifted its head proudly as it answered, and despite not getting up it still towered a good ten feet above them.

“Wind Walker... what a beautiful name.” Dora smiled, then turned to Danny and explained, “It is courtesy to call draconic strangers by their species--dragons are rather proud of that, you see. They don’t really have given names, as we do.”

The dragon snorted again and shook its head in amusement. Danny could almost hear the retort, which was something along the lines of “preferred names are a human concept”, according to Dora.

“What’s the dragon custom of distinguishing each other, if they have don’t names?” The half-ghost boy wondered, eyeing the reptilian beast curiously. It purred back at him, soft and almost gentle in its answer.

“It says they called each other by their most valued trait,” Dora explained, “The name can change over time, and it is usually decided by other dragons. But this Wind Walker here... it says that in its nest, it was called ‘Love’.”

“Love?” Danny blinked, looking at the Night Fury-- _Wind Walker_. It stared mournfully back into its eyes, as if reminded of just how alone it was now. His eyebrows furrowed in empathy, and he reached out to touch it again. He whispered under his breath, “You do have a lot of love, don’t you.”

The dragon nuzzled his hand, closing its eyes, and Danny could feel its longing once more.

Warmth traveled through his fingers and curled around his heart, and he couldn’t help but want nothing more than to help it find peace again.


	2. Looking for Distractions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seeing as I just reread [How to Befriend a Ghost](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3172174/chapters/6889242) again shortly after writing the first chapter of Elska, I decided to experiment a bit with my characterization of the dragon side of things (again, with inspiration from HtBaG) and give the dragons a voice. Draconic tongue will be written with  _italics_ , if that’s not obvious! (Though my readers probably would have noticed I already use italics all the time to indicate other languages in my other fics~)
> 
> Also, I borrowed some species names from HtBaG as well, but I came up with several of my own. It was fun! The Dancing Draugr, however, was a name and creation by [kikaiz](http://tmblr.co/mF3-oNJgFP43VMjFiVN6s6w) so the credit goes to Miss Kikai for that one! Silver Phantoms are real dragons from the HTTYD books, Hiccup's mom rode one--but when I was looking up dragons for this chapter, I saw it and I realized how strikingly similar it was to Dora and Aragon's dragon forms! So I decided to make it the canon of this story--Dora is a Silver Phantom~.

Dora was surprised when she came outside and saw a large black shadow pass overhead. A few of the guards gasped when they all collectively looked up, and several tensed at the sight of the wings and black scales.

“Stand down!” Dora shouted urgently--she could understand her people’s reaction, of course. Black dragons had been the symbol of her brother, after all. But she had already realized which black dragon this one was. Taking a deep breath, she ordered sharply, “Lay down your weapons!”

Though the knights seemed unsure, many took out their weapons and put them on the ground, as instructed.

Dora looked up at the shadow that was circling overhead, seeming to be watching them warily--and not attacking like last time, thankfully.

“You may land, Wind Walker!” She called up to it, laying the thick hissing tones of draconic speak under her voice, “It is safe, I promise!”

The large reptilian beast gave a low cry, which didn’t sound at all like the high-pitched shriek it had used when it first attacked, and then it slowly coasted down, landing with a bit of a run. If Dora hadn’t been looking, she would have missed the way its short legs clumsily shuffled, but she politely decided to ignore it.

It slowed to a stop in front of her, its glowing peridot eyes eyeing all the knights suspiciously before it turned its gaze on her, appraising her as she stood tall and straight in the middle of the courtyard.

“Welcome to my kingdom, Wind Walker Love.” She curtsied to it, and it humbly dipped its head back. “I once again apologize and take responsibilities for the actions of my people against you, during the last time you came here.”

The black beast snorted softly.  _“I told you, little one, I acted rashly, so it is I who is at fault. There is no need to apologize.”_

Dora bristled a little at being called ‘little’ once more, but said nothing, much to the dragon’s-- _Love’s_  amusement.

“That aside... why have you come, Wind Walker Love?” The blonde princess asked politely, though she had an idea of why.

 _“I came here to accept your proposal, even if I do not fully trust you--but you are also part dragon, so I am willing to give you a chance.”_  Love said gruffly,  _“I was also interested in the demon hatchling from before. He said he visited here often, did he not?”_

Dora nodded in understanding. “Of course. Though I believe he would have visited you anyway, even on that small patch of land.”

 _“And where is he now?”_  Love asked curiously, leaning its large head down to be more level with the green-skinned ghost.

“He is at home, in the living realm. He does not live here, as we full demons do--as I said before, he is still human.” The princess replied, “I shall send him word that you are here, though.”

 _“The hatchling is a half-breed?”_  Love tilted its head curiously, its eyes wide,  _“How does that even work?”_

“You would have to ask him yourself,” Dora chuckled, “I do not understand the full details, myself. The occurrence was caused by technology beyond my time and understanding, you see.”

Love grunted, unsatisfied with the answer, but storing away its questions for now. It shifted, relaxing its tall, proud posture and sitting down more comfortably on its haunches.

 _“I shall wait to ask him, then,”_  it sighed,  _“In the meantime... you said you could offer me sanctuary within this domain.”_

“Ah, yes,” Dora nodded, “What would you prefer? I have an area nearby the stables I use when I change form, occasionally, but if you wish to be more secluded, there are some caves upstream of the river.”

The dragon shuffled uncomfortably on its paws.  _“I’d... rather have some time alone. Not that I would mind speaking to you more, little one.”_

Dora winced a little at being called little  _again_ , but she nodded. “This way, then, I shall show you to your new home.”

_Home, huh..._

~~~

Love had gotten comfortable in Dora’s kingdom--it didn’t leave its cave too often, but every few days it left the domain to explore other nearby lands. Otherwise it kept to itself, careful to keep its mourning to the confines of its cave.

It was a parent, after all. It had never shown such weakness to its children, and even if it was alone, it found that keeping up the facade helped keep it from breaking down in tears.

Dora visited the cave every so often, especially if Love had not visited the castle in a few days. The company was welcome, and Love was beginning to think of Dora like she was one of the young dragons that had been a part of its pack. The ghostly princess had, interestingly enough, been “part dragon” her whole life, born to a line of humans who had bonded with a dragon in the past. Love had been skeptical of the mentioned bond at first--and slightly offended that any dragon would willingly make a bond with the humans that had scorned them so often in the past. Though despite that, it could smell the magical amulet that Dora wore in Dora’s very being, as if she had been wearing it so long it had melded into her soul and become an essential part of who she was.

Perhaps that was why, in death, the amulet had stayed with the blonde princess, and while Love had no idea if the princess’ half-dragon status had been similar in life, it could tell that Dora as she was now was as much of a true dragon as one of Love’s own pack mates had been. The presence of another dragon had been comforting, though Love often wondered why it had not seen any dragons from its own time, whether they had been part of its nest or not.

Dora had informed it of this strange place called the Ghost Zone--about how time flowed strangely and how ghosts were formed. To be told it was over a millennium away from its own era was disconcerting, and that night it had howled in heart-wrenched pain when it had realized that that meant its entire world had disappeared from the living world--that its family was as dead as it was, and it would have no idea where they were or if they would even become ghosts like itself.

Love spent its days like this, wandering the Zone or talking with Dora, who was so eager to know of a heritage that had died long before her time--Love’s heritage, a culture lost to humans and lost in time. Occasionally the odd half-breed demon, Danny, would come by to visit it--he never said much and didn’t stay long, but he seemed to want to check up on its well being.

The Night Fury thought his scent was odd when it had finally stopped to get a good sniff of him, but it attributed that to his half-breed status--it still didn’t really understand how that worked, but something about Danny certainly did seem different from other demons. He felt more solid, his color more warm, and his aura more inviting--with other demons, Love had felt a twinge of fear, but Danny didn’t give it that feeling. Perhaps it was just his nature, as he always seemed glad to see it happy, and somehow he was also able to tell when it needed cheering up, so it was grateful for that.

The day after it learned about the Ghost Zone, he had appeared and simply sat there, reading a book he said he got from someone named “Ghost Writer”. It wasn’t much, but he started reading it out loud and laughing about it--there was something about how he was a pretty stupid kid two years ago--and Love couldn’t help but be cheered by his laugh.

The way his eyes lit up reminded it of its daughter, always so bright and curious.

Perhaps it was that enchanting green color; that dull glowing green that seemed to color his entire eye that particular hue. But something about his soul shone through his eyes, something like pure light and affection and protection, and Love thought that had the boy been a dragon, he would have been named Love too.

Love knew that logically, it should have been afraid of demons--of the cold-skinned beasts that haunted even its own nightmares with their powerful, colorful fires and their impenetrability. But perhaps becoming one of them had quelled its fears, given it immunity to the deep instinctive need to run, and let its soul become more sensitive than ever to the emotions coming off other creatures--it was an ability it didn’t have as a living being, and it wondered about that.

Or perhaps it was just Danny that it had become sensitive to--maybe because he was still part living, maybe because he was young and something about that set off its parental instincts, or maybe it was because, when it looked into his eyes at their first meeting, it had seen  _itself_.

Love had seen the fear in his eyes--the panic, the desperate wish to live, the unyielding will to survive--and that had resonated with Love so deeply it had stopped.

Those green eyes, so young and frightened and unsure what to do, had reminded it of its son, and the last it had seen of him.

It remembered looking into his panic-stricken eyes and seeing its reflection--and the echoes of that night danced through its head.

Love gave a soft whine, laying down against the cave floor and closing its eyes, trying to will itself not to cry.

~~~

Several weeks had passed since Love had moved to Dora’s kingdom, and finally it got bored with exploring the cave it had been given and the lands around it. It returned once more to the castle grounds, but Dora was nowhere to be seen, and it eyed the guards warily as it padded through the courtyard. Getting impatient, it roared quietly, causing a few of the knights to flinch--and though they tensed, they didn’t draw their weapons.

 _“Maybe I was wrong about the hatchling having no control over her people.”_ It mused.

Apparently, one of the pages had thought to go get the princess, because she came to a window facing the courtyard a few minutes later. Love tilted its head, sitting up a little straighter and easily coming eye level to Dora’s position.

“Are you still settling in fine?” Dora smiled politely, and when Love nodded, she grinned more widely. “That’s good. Did you need something else?”

 _“I was curious about something,”_  Love grumbled. _“You do not resemble the humans I have seen around my former nest--demon-ness aside. Your fur coverings are odd compared to what I’ve seen the humans wear, it’s too thin for cold weather.”_

“I believe my kingdom comes from a different era than the one you know, Wind Walker,” the princess placed her hands on the window sill, leaning out a bit, “If the age of my books is any indication, the humans of your time and region were called  _vikings_. They lived on islands far out at sea, several centuries before the time I was born in. My people lived on the mainland, much further in the continent, where it was warmer--thus, the ‘fur coverings’ we needed were lighter in material.”

 _“Vikings... the name does sound familiar.”_  Love paused, eyeing her inquisitively before it asked,  _“What ‘books’ do you speak of? You mentioned them before as well, and that you had read of my kind. I assume they are writings of some sort. Who wrote about us? What do you know of Wind Walkers--or Night Furies, as you call them?”_

“Someone from the viking times had captured one of your kind, and he wrote much about it in his quest to tame it,” Dora replied uncertainly, flinching back when Love’s eyes narrowed.

 _“...Is that so?”_  It seethed quietly,  _“Humans... to think they can capture and tame my kind... what arrogant creatures, much like the vile human who was likely my killer. They were all the same, back then.”_

“I beg your pardon?” Dora felt mildly appalled, “The author of those books was regarded a hero, I certainly doubt his arrogance.”

Love snorted,  _“Even though my nestlings and I left them well alone, they still came to our home and engaged us. I suspect they were angry about something, but...”_  Its eyes trailed away.

“My books do detail a time where dragons had once attacked humans often, and stole their livestock for food,” Dora commented, “That was not your kind?”

Love huffed indignantly, looking offended.  _“Of course not! My nest was surrounded by oceans of fish, we hunted for our own food! We did not need to attack humans!”_ It grumbled in annoyance,  _“That must have been the Lava Dweller and her mindless lackeys.”_

“Lava Dweller?” Dora asked curiously, tilting her head.

 _“The Six-Eyed Lava Dweller was a lazy queen who controlled weaker dragons to get food for her, because she was far too lumbering to efficiently hunt.”_  Love snorted,  _“I did not get involved with her affairs, though she often tried to call me to do her bidding as well.”_

“You... weren’t affected by her control?” The ghostly princess asked in surprise. “I read about several dragons who had the ability to control other dragons, but the only six-eyed dragon I know of was called the Red Death... what you just described sounds a lot like it.”

 _“Red Death? What an odd name, she was hardly red at all.”_  Love quirked the skin above its eye, almost looking like it was raising an eyebrow.  _“But no, I was not under her control. I am a queen myself--queens and kings cannot control other queens and kings.”_

Dora’s red eyes widened in surprise. “Y--you’re a  _queen_!” She gasped, “An alpha species!”

 _“Is that what humans call us?”_  Love rolled its--her?--eyes,  _“I suppose so then. Yes, I am. Did your books not detail that?”_

Dora shook her head, staring with near reverence at the ghostly black dragon. “Well, not exactly--there was one part about a Night Fury--pardon, Wind Walker, whom bested a Bewilderbeast and became an alpha.”

 _“Bewilderbeast?”_  Love tilted her head.

The princess paused for a moment, trying to think of a way to describe it without using its name--it likely had a different name in the dragon tongue. “Very large sea-dwelling dragons that spat ice instead of fire.” She explained slowly.

 _“Ah, a Blizzard Breather.”_  Love nodded,  _“They are usually docile, though, and I can’t imagine why a Wind Walker would need to best one in order to become an ‘alpha’, as you call it. We are already an ‘alpha species’, after all, and we normally do not reside in regions under another queen’s control.”_

“This Wind Walker had been living with a group of dragons formerly under the--ah, Lava Dweller’s control, before the Lava Dweller was slayed. It wasn’t seen as an alpha until it struck down the... Blizzard Breather, which had threatened its home.” Dora explained.

Love hummed in contemplation.  _“Why would one of my kind be living like that...? How odd.”_  She murmured.  _“And to gain control of Firecoats and Spike Launchers and that like... well, it’s certainly not impossible.”_

Dora tilted her head. “There are so many things I do not know about dragons... I’ve read much, but I’m not familiar with any of the species you just described, and it’s become clear that I know little of dragon culture itself, despite that my amulet has made me part dragon in a sense. I suppose it comes from not knowing actual living dragons in my time.”

 _“Well, that won’t do,”_  Love grinned widely, revealing toothless gums,  _“I shall have to teach you, little one--even if you were once human, I can smell the dragon in you. You certainly seem to be as much of a dragon as I am.”_

Dora’s eyebrows jumped in surprise, but she smiled eagerly and nodded. “Oh, I would love to learn more! Thank you very much!” She said excitedly, “Please, it must be uncomfortable sitting so tall all the time--would you go around to the back? I’ll meet you over there, and we can talk more!”

Love gave a small hum, but she nodded and got up, stretching her wings a bit before she shook herself and began padding toward the back area Dora had pointed to. Dora grinned and disappeared from the window, dashing through the halls.

“Oh!” She paused, remembering something, and took a quick left as she continued running.

“Princess, don’t run in the halls!” One of the maids fretted when she saw the monarch coming.

“Sorry!” Dora grinned sheepishly, not apologetic at all, but she slowed down slightly without breaking her stride. The maid gave her an exasperated look as she disappeared around the corner, but she ignored it in favor of focusing on her goal--heading to the castle library.

~~~

Danny flew over to Dora’s kingdom, his eyes bright and cheerful. It had become a habit that, every few days, as soon as he got home from school he would do a quick round to make sure no ghosts were causing trouble, and then head to the Ghost Zone. Sam and Tucker always promised to keep an eye on things for a few hours while he went into the Zone, so he wasn’t worried. After nearly a week of not visiting, Danny was finally getting the chance to see the mournful dragon.

It actually didn’t look all that mournful, he thought as he flew up to the castle and spotted it lounging in the field near the stables. It was making soft hisses and purrs as it talked to Dora, seeming pleased about something, while Dora’s red eyes were wide with awe.

“Hey!” He called down to the pair, swooping down and landing.

“Good day, Sir Phantom!” Dora waved, motioning to the ground beside her, “Come, join us!”

Love perked up at his appearance, purring delightedly as it leaned over to greet him.

“Nice to see you again too.” He laughed, petting it affectionately, “I see you’re doing better. See, what’d I tell you, coming here would be great, right?”

Love snorted, settling back down and looking at Dora, hissing something with a smile.

“‘Admittedly’?” Dora repeated with a soft laugh, “Well, I would hope I’m being a gracious host.”

Danny chuckled and sat down next to her, noticing the book in her lap. “What are you doing?” He asked curiously.

“Wind Walker Love was telling me about dragon culture. I’ve been amending my dragon manual according to what she’s taught me.” Dora explained, holding up the book to show him.

“Dragon manual? What’s th--wait,  _she_?” Danny’s eyes went wide, and he looked up at the chortling dragon, who leaned down to nuzzle him in amusement.

“Yes. I found out that this Wind Walker is a queen--which makes her kind an alpha species. She was the mother of her nest.” Dora giggled at Danny’s reaction.

“Well, uh--okay. That’s cool. Sorry for calling you a guy before, then?” He grinned at the black green-eyed dragon, who shook her head in dismissal. Danny laughed and then turned back to Dora. “So, dragon manual?”

The green-skinned princess closed the book with her hand between the pages to mark her spot, showing him the cover. “This one is an English translation of the original Norse version, written by a great explorer in the past. But a dragon manual details all sorts of dragons, their habits and behavior, as well as classifying them and labeling certain ones too dangerous to approach.”

“Cool,” Danny studied the insignia on the worn leather cover curiously. “Hey, that looks like a Night Fury.”

“I think it  _is_  one--the author had been fond of the one he tamed,” Dora nodded, taking the book back and flipping it back to the page she had been on.

“Tamed?”

Love growled in irritation, looking annoyed, and Dora sighed. “There isn’t much record of it, but the author had apparently captured and tamed a Night Fury that attacked his island. The section on Night Furies is largely the record of this particular Fury.”

“Huh. So dragons can be tamed?” Danny looked up at Love curiously, who growled and glared sharply at him till he shrunk back. “Uh, I’ll take that as a no.”

“They’re rather proud and private creatures, according to Wind Walker Love. She believes the Night Fury was held against its will.” Dora translated uncertainly.

“You don’t think so?” Danny lifted an eyebrow at her.

Dora shrugged, not sure how to answer that. She looked back down at her book and turned to the page on Night Furies, where she had written “Wind Walker” at the top next to the printed species name.

“I think the author’s fondness extended far beyond what he wrote.” Dora simply said, and Danny looked over her shoulder to read the page.

There was a drawing of a Night Fury from above, its wings spanning the entire page spread, with small notes and arrows pointing to its anatomy. When Dora turned the page, there were a few more sketches of the creature at different angles, and Danny blinked in surprise, looking between the drawings and the dragon before them.

“...Love doesn’t look very much like that,” he pointed to the book, looking back and forth at it and the black dragon’s curious expression. “I mean, I get that sketches can only capture so much detail, but everything else seems pretty accurate...”

“What do you mean?” Dora blinked, following his gaze.

“Well, she’s got more of those... head frill thingies. And the bumpy spines on her back are way bigger.” Danny shrugged, glancing back at the page and catching sight of some other info printed there. “And she is  _definitely not_  ten meters long.”

Love crooned in amusement, her tail swaying behind her. Dora’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. “She says that might be the size of an adolescent. She herself is a Titan Wing.”

“Titan Wing?” Danny glanced over.

“Basically, the dragon version of a ‘full grown adult’.” Dora explained, looking back down at her book, “The author of the original dragon manual had caught his Night Fury when it was young, so he might not have lived long enough to see it grow into a Titan Wing. I suppose it makes sense, then, that his manual is incomplete.”

“I guess.” Danny looked up at Love in awe, “Are all Titan Wings this big?”

“Some are bigger--Night Furies are by far not the largest dragons out there.” Dora flipped a few pages in her book again, “They’re the smallest alpha species, even.” She looked up, “Wind Walker Love was just telling me about the other alpha species, actually, when you arrived.”

Love nodded and made a low rumbling sound, shifting her sitting position.

“Well, if Sir Phantom doesn’t mind, we could continue.” Dora looked between the two other ghosts.

“I want to learn too!” Danny’s eyes lit up at the prospect, “Wait, catch me up first, then we can learn more together!”

Dora giggled, looking at Love, who nodded her permission, laying her head down to get comfortable while Dora and Danny talked. Dora looked back at the half-ghost hero and started explaining, “Aside from Wind Walkers, there were a few other alpha species--I believe I mentioned the Red Death and Bewilderbeasts to you before. Dragons call them Six-Eyed Lava Dwellers and Blizzard Breathers--they’re certainly more fitting names.” She turned to the pages in the dragon manual, showing her friend the sketches of the large, dinosaur-like horned creature and an even larger, spiky-headed beast with two long, curved tusks. “There are also a few other dragons under the ‘Death’ category, but most of them are subspecies of the Lava Dwellers and something Love called Coral Prophets...”

After she explained more about them, she went on to talk about the ridiculously named Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus--the one Love had called a “Coral Prophet”, a name which Dora and Danny were quite happy to adopt since it was much easier to say and Danny couldn’t stop cracking up with laughter every time he tried to say the other name. However ridiculously named, though, they were fearsome sea dragons that possessed something akin to telepathy and foresight, and like the Red Deaths they ate other dragons. Danny had frowned at that, wondering if Night Furies also ate dragons, but Love assured him they didn’t.

“They’re usually quite noble,” Dora explained, “and are even a little protective of the dragons under their rule.”

Danny perked up at this, gazing at Love with a soft smile. “Which dragons were under its rule? Were there any besides other Night Furies?”

Love lifted her head, sighing wistfully as she explained something to Dora, who blinked in surprise at her.

“Unlike Bewilderbeasts and Red Deaths, which lived with their controlled packs in hives, Night Furies--like Coral Prophets--preferred solitude. While they did keep to themselves and didn’t often exercise their control over their kin, they had several other solitary species at their call if they needed them.” She translated.

Danny looked up at Love in wonder. “Like friendly kingdoms who aide their allies in war?”

“Something like that,” Dora nodded, turning a few pages in her book, trying to find the species that Love was describing in fond warbles. When she did find them, she began writing in their alternate names. “Some of them were Skrills, known to dragons as Storm Sailors. They usually lived in separate packs, but they were never too far away from the Night Furies. And these are Flightmares,” she pointed to a page with a frightening-looking blue-colored dragon.

Danny stared at it. “It looks like a ghost,” he commented in awe, “What’s it called by the dragons?”

“Starcoats. Wind Walker Love says they resemble stars, not ghosts.” Dora grinned when Love snorted in amusement. “She’s calling you odd for thinking that they look like us.”

“Oh come on, they’re freaky looking and they glow! What’s not ghostly about that? I mean, not that we’re freaky looking, but I’ve seen my share of freaky ones!” Danny pouted, and Love leaned down and pushed him over with her nose. He yelped, laying on the ground with Love’s head on top of the majority of his body. “Okay, okay, they’re not that freaky looking! Sorry I insulted your--uh, kin? Or whatever it is!”

Love rolled her eyes with a huff, getting off him. He sat up, rubbing his neck sheepishly. “So I might have deserved that.” He chuckled. “Were there any others that Night Furies called kin?”

The big black dragon purred, settling down comfortably again. Dora blinked, looking through her book for a few minutes, before she looked back up, confusion clear on her face. She turned the book so Love could see it, tapping the page. “I’m not exactly sure it fits the description you gave me, but does this look like it?”

The Night Fury queen studied the drawing on the page carefully, before she nodded in confirmation. Danny leaned over to look at the book as Dora turned it back to herself. The dragon on the page was a long, snake-like black serpent with a white belly, a gecko-like face, a long waving tail, three long black claws protruding from flat, white-sleeved paws, and a wide grin.

“This is a Mystery Class dragon called a Dancing Draugr by humans.” Dora said slowly, “It’s the closest thing I could find that matched what Wind Walker Love called a Doubled-Jawed Howler. Except she said that a Double-Jawed Howler had wings--I think perhaps this Dancing Draugr was a special case, as the author writes that he had only seen it once.”

Love snorted with a smirk, crooning. Dora shook her head in exasperation. “Apparently it was the most mischievous and cunning of the dragons ruled by the Night Furies, and it was a master of deception, so Wind Walker Love isn’t surprised that the humans might have mistaken it for a sea- or land-bound dragon of some sort.”

“Huh. It sounds cool, and it looks really awesome,” the ghost boy remarked, “Were those the only dragons you were the queen of, Love?” He paused, frowning a bit when he thought that calling the great beast ‘Love’ sounded odd rolling off his tongue.

Love hissed something with obvious amusement, and Dora’s eyes widened. “Really?” She breathed quietly, and Love nodded. At Danny’s questioning glance, Dora turned excitedly to him. “She says my innate dragon was one of her kin-types! It was called a Silver Phantom!”

Danny snickered at the name, finding it hilariously coincidental. “What did the humans call it?” He asked, looking at the book as Dora flipped through it eagerly.

“I don’t know, I’ve never seen my type of dragon in the manual before--I’ve looked, believe me.” Dora bit her bottom lip, stopping her search, “I don’t think humans have ever seen it--Wind Walker Love says they only lived in high places, and flew the highest of any dragon she’d ever known.”

“Huh. Well, that’s good that you know what type of dragon you are now!” Danny patted her arm in a friendly manner, and she beamed at him.

“Wind Walker Love, would you please tell us more about Silver Phantoms? I’d like to know more about my other self!” Dora asked the black dragon, who smiled and nodded. “Fantastic! Oh, how I’ve longed to know more about it, and the culture it came from, but since it was never in any books, I never dreamed I would actually be able to...”

Love shook her head in amusement, and Danny laughed. He took the pencil-like writing utensil and the book from Dora, flipping to the back where there was a blank page.

“Well, why don’t we write it all down then? So then it’ll be in a book, now!” He suggested, “Hey, why don’t you turn into your dragon self so I can sketch you?”

“Okay!” Dora jumped to her feet excitedly, and Love watched with piqued interest as she touched her amulet and glowed a fiery color as she grew in size.

When the sky blue dragon was standing proudly before them, Love muttered something under her breath. Dora tilted her horned head and shuffled closer to sit in front of her.

“I look slightly different than your kin?” She translated out loud, confused.

“It might be because you’re a ghostly version, which always slightly differs from the living form,” Danny reminded her, “And it could be a regional difference thing,” he pointed out. “Like... you said this book was originally Norse, right? Since Night Furies are in here, I assume they lived around the north--but you were from further south, so maybe there were some breed variations based on the habitat your species needed to adapt to.”

“I suppose that’s true,” Dora nodded, settling down and folding her paws over each other. She looked back at Love, who was craning her neck to look over Danny’s shoulder as he started drawing, her pupils dilated in awe.

“So... about Silver Phantoms?” Dora prompted, and Love looked back at her. She made some guttural hissing sounds, and Dora began to translate to Danny, who paused every so often in his sketching to write it all down.

~~~

Love watched idly as Danny sat against a stone in her cave and talked about things she didn’t really understand--Danny spoke of something called “school” and “Amity Park” and other odd things, and he really just seemed like he wanted to vent rather than get an actual response. So she just sat and listened, cocking her head at him in confusion.

The Wind Walker was honestly a little lost, still trying to grasp his language even if she had already figured out much of it from their few meetings. Danny’s way of speaking was quite different from Dora’s, and Love had seen that sometimes even Dora had a hard time understanding him when the two of them talked together.

One thing she was certain she was able to gather, though, was that Danny was  _young_ \--somewhat younger than what she would call a dragon’s version of an adolescent, as far as she could tell. And apparently, like the young ones in her nest, Danny had all the problems of a nestling--something about not being liked, others not understanding him, and trying to figure out his responsibilities and his own identity.

He was apparently hurt--and often--by other ghosts and living children, which made Love’s ears shoot up in concern. She listened more closely now, trying to discern the meaning of the word “bullies”, frowning. She eyed him for any injuries, but she honestly didn’t know what human injuries were supposed to look like aside form claw marks and burns, and Danny clearly didn’t have either of those.

“...I mean, it’s really hard when even my  _parents_  don’t understand,” Danny sighed, running his hand through his white head fur, and Love tilted her head, wondering what “parents” meant. Danny continued, “I know I get beat up on purpose to keep my identity safe, but I wish they would  _do something_  about it, you know? But... even now, they don’t really even do anything about Dash--heck, my dad thinks we’re  _friends_  because of that one time we stopped Youngblood together, and that other time I accidentally threw that party, and that  _other_  time before all that when I wanted to go to  _his_  party...”

Love gave up trying to understand half the words in that particular sentence, frowning deeply. Danny sounded stressed and concerned, so she nudged him gently, causing him to jump--he seemed to have forgotten she was there.

He smiled wryly and absently petted her snout, continuing softly, “I get that my dad is kind of oblivious, but really he’s just... the most loving guy I know. He’s all about second chances, and third chances, and so many more... honestly I think he’s given one too many chances to Vlad, but that’s dad for you. Still, I wish he would see that I don’t need to be giving Dash or anyone second chances in a situation like this--I need him to  _do_  something.”

He looked away and shook his head dejectedly. “Mom is more observant, and sometimes I wonder how I even manage to get away with half that stuff I do, but she... never notices. She’s always so into her inventions and... a ghost detector could point right at me and she wouldn’t notice because she’d be busy trying to fix a thing that isn’t broken instead of being suspicious of me.” He sighed heavily, leaning his head on one hand and his elbow on his knee. “I come home late and with bruises all the time but all she does is ground me. Sometimes I think she worries, but other times... I think she’s given up on trying to understand why I act the way I do. It kind of hurts.”

Love made a small whine, finally understanding what “parents” were, and her brow knit in concern when she realized how frustrated Danny was with them. It seemed as if he was lacking affection and attention from them, and Love--as a mother herself--was appalled.

So she did the first thing that came naturally to her and pulled him close with one paw like she would do with her nestlings, keeping him firmly in place as she licked his head to clean that messy white head fur of his. The texture and color reminded her of a young Howler she had taken care of once, so she wasn’t completely unused to the odd human-demon she now curled around.

Danny made a startled sound, wide eyes looking up at her before one winked closed to keep saliva from getting in. “Love, what--”

 _“Quiet, little one, you need a good cleaning.”_  She murmured distractedly, nudging his now damp wet hair out of his face. He stared up at her in surprise, peridot green eyes reflecting none of the frustration or sadness from before. Love hummed in satisfaction, glad she had distracted him, just as he had done for her before.

Even if he looked like a human, Love still couldn’t help but think Danny was similar to her children in so many ways, and she couldn’t help but want to mother him.

She idly continued cleaning him, even if he didn’t really need cleaning, and for a moment Danny wondered if she was going to eat him. After a minute, Danny seemed to figure out what she was doing, and he laughed.

“Thanks, I think?” He smiled with a slight grimace, “Sorry, I guess I just needed someone to talk to--someone who wasn’t Sam or Tucker or Jazz. I mean, they already know this stuff, and... well, sometimes I feel they don’t need to waste their time listening to me say stuff they already know.” He leaned against Love, resting his shoulder against her belly.

 _“Hmm.”_  Love hummed, licking his face affectionately again, letting him know he was welcome and that she would listen, even if she didn’t understand him completely and he didn’t understand her at all.

She nuzzled him, and he smiled more genuinely as he stroked her scales. The two sat in comfortable silence, content with each other’s presence.


	3. All That Remains

“Hey, is that dragon you’ve been seeing lately doing any better?” Tucker asked curiously as he walked beside Danny, heading to Fenton Works after a long day of school and ghost fighting.

“She’s fine, but...” Danny made a face, his nose scrunching up and his eyebrows furrowing, “dude, you make it seem like we’re dating.”

“You totally are,” Tucker laughed, elbowing him in the ribs, “You even call her  _looove_. Like a Brit or something.”

“That’s because that’s her  _name_ , you moron!” Danny snapped, a light blush crossing his face in total embarrassment, and he shoved Tucker back playfully.

“I don’t know, he’s kind of right,” Sam chuckled on his other side, “You go to see her all the time, you talk about her constantly, and you care about her well being about as much as you care about ours and all of Amity Park’s. It’s practically like that time you dated Valerie.”

“Um, ew, no? Err, not the Valerie thing, but why would a dragon be my girlfriend?” Danny reddened even more, “Besides, like you said, I just... care about her as much as I care about you. Uh, you two,” he amended quickly, coughing into his hand nervously. “I mean... uhg, how do I describe this thing with Love...” Danny stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, his eyebrows drawing close together in contemplation. His friends stopped in front of him, turning to face him quizzically as he tried to find the right words. “It’s like... um, do you remember what you felt like, when I first had the accident, and I was freaking out because, you know, I woke up as a  _ghost_?”

The other two teens’ expressions immediately dropped.

“Uh,  _yeah_ ,” Tucker shivered involuntarily as the screams of that day echoed in his mind--not just Danny’s cries of pain, but his and Sam’s own of terror. “Like how can we forget that, man? Scariest day of our lives, and you know it.”

“We thought we... we thought we’d killed you.” Sam said softly, her violet eyes not quite meeting his.

“Yeah. I thought I was fully dead too. I mean, I know  _I_  was freaking out, and I can only imagine how you guys felt,” Danny bit his lip, his blue gaze flickering between his two friends. “But that day... when you saw me freaking out and we didn’t know what was happening... you guys calmed me down, remember? And I needed that.”

Sam and Tucker nodded in unison, suddenly understanding what Danny’s point was. On that day that haunted all their dreams at the back of their minds, Danny had died. Or, they thought he had--yet they hadn’t turned away or ran screaming like people normally did when they saw ghosts. They were only fourteen--they were dumb and young and scared, but they had seen their friend stumble out of the swirling green vortex with white hair and a misty, smoking glow, and the first thing they thought to do was make sure he was okay.

Sam had felt guilty about the whole thing, thinking it was her fault, but she put him first and made sure he didn’t fall into depression and anxiety and panic at the thought that he wasn’t human anymore. She was his constant reminder that he was there and real and alive, that not being normal wasn’t a bad thing, that he could do wondrous things with his powers. And even though he didn’t fault her, she had made it her personal goal to do whatever she could to make sure Danny became comfortable with his powers, and helped him adjust to each one.

Tucker had given Danny a sense of normalcy--despite that he was always spontaneously turning invisible or falling through the floor, Tucker had picked him right back up and continued whatever they were doing without batting an eye, as if these new powers had been typical of Danny. Tucker had never pretended the powers weren’t there--he had made sure Danny knew that they could go back to normal but also make a  _new_  “normal”, half-ghost oddities included.

Danny watched as the reminiscences of their greatest secret flashed behind his friends’ eyes, and he turned his head up, staring at the bright blue sky. “Love needs that now,” he said simply. “She was like me, when she found out she was dead--she freaked out, she got angry, she cried... and I guess I just--I know how she feels. It was  _painful_. You guys didn’t hear her. You didn’t see her, but... you guys saw  _me_. It was like that, but worse. She came into this alone and scared, and I don’t want her to be like that forever.”

“So you and Dora, then...” Sam nodded in understanding. She knew exactly how Danny was feeling right then--he had the need to comfort the dragon and show her the upsides of everything that had happened, he was being the “Sam” to Love’s “Danny”. And if what Love needed was the same support and sense of normalcy Danny had gotten, then Dora was the “Tucker” with her familiar draconic presence.

The goth grinned, punching her friend on the arm. “It’s a good thing that you’re doing for her, Danny. We’re with you, and we’ll cover for you if you want to go see her.”

“Yeah, man. And you know, big scary dragon or not, if she’s your friend and you wanna support her, then we’ll support her too.” Tucker slapped the black-haired boy on the back.

Danny winced at their hits and rubbed his arm--it was mostly for show, since Danny was nearly invulnerable now, but even though his friends knew his secret, the habit was so ingrained in his subconscious that he couldn’t help it. “You guys haven’t even met her yet, yet you’re already so nice to her. You guys are the best.” He smiled brightly at their encouraging words. “Which reminds me--do you want to meet her?”

Sam lit up excitedly. “Yes! After everything you and Dora have said about her? Heck yeah!” She pumped her fist in the air enthusiastically.

“We won’t be there long, right?” Tucker grinned anxiously, “Uh, I mean I might stay in the Specter Speeder, but I do wanna meet her.”

Sam rolled her eyes. “You can live without your tech for a few hours, Tuck.”

Tucker waved her off. “Hey you guys talk to Dora all the time, can’t you convince her to make tech work in her realm somehow?”

“That’s not how the domain works...” Danny rolled his eyes, “Anyway, we can convince Jazz to cover for us and head into the Zone for a few hours--and since it’s still early, we should be back in time to do some homework before your curfews.”

“Isn’t our science report due tomorrow?” His dark-skinned best friend smirked at his pout. “If you weren’t you, Danny, I’d wonder about your sense of priorities.”

“Hmm, Tucker does make a point. Should we go meet a big dead dragon in a realm where none of his poor modern technology works, or stay here and work on that science report that’s due at eight in the morning.” Sam drawled dryly, grinning, “It almost sounds like a joke.”

“Except both options are dead serious.” Tucker put in, and both of his friends yelled and hit him on both shoulders for the horrid pun.

~~~

Love’s ears perked at the sound of a distant whistle-like whine. Her muscles tense, she got to her feet and crept out of her cave, peeking into the clearing cautiously.

The whine had stopped, but voices were floating through the forest somewhere, too muffled to make out but definitely there. Were they yelling?

Her frills folded back anxiously, and she slunk into the shadows of a cluster of trees, climbing into the branches and peering out through the leaves, watching the entrance of her “home”.

Several minutes later, footsteps crunched through the forest, coming towards her like she expected--but now she could make out the voices.

“...actually kind of sweet, really! I mean, yeah she was super scary at first, but, you know, that was when she was all teeth and fire...”

Love’s ears perked again--she knew that voice! It was the demon boy she had affectionately termed “halfling”, Danny. He had come to visit again, it seemed--but who were the others with him? She could hear two other sets of footsteps, heavy as if unused to walking through the underbrush, and an odd but distantly familiar scent reached her nose the closer the footsteps got.

“You say that as if she’s not still teeth and fire,” a voice replied nervously to Danny, sounding just as young as him but lacking the distinct echo Love had gotten used to hearing from the ghosts of the Ghost Zone.

“Well she’s still got fire, obviously, but she doesn’t use it,” Danny huffed dryly, and Love could catch his tones as he got ever closer--he was being playful, and he seemed to be talking about her, though Love couldn’t discern why. “But she’s definitely not all teeth! I found out those are retractable!”

“Retractable?” A second unknown voice joined Danny and the other’s, and Love couldn’t identify who it belonged to--it was a different pitch from Danny’s in a way that reminded her of Dora, but it was a deep, almost sultry voice, also lacking the ghostly echo much to Love’s growing suspicion. “Why would a predatory dragon need retractable teeth?”

“Heck if I know. According to the dragon manual, they only eat fish, though, so they’re not exactly predators like lions...”

Danny finally came into the clearing, pushing past some low-hanging branches, and Love wondered why he didn’t take the usual path from Dora’s castle. Her eyes narrowed, however, at the two figures that stepped out beside him a moment later.

They were hardly as colorful as the demons--one was pale and covered in black, the other with skin the color of healthy tree bark and wearing the most ugly colors Love had ever seen on any humanoid being. But they were strangers, and that made Love cautious.

She kept still, watching as they followed the halfling to the mouth of her cave, peeking in to find her when she wasn’t there.

“Huh, she’s not home... I wonder if she went exploring again?” Danny muttered, his shoulders sagging slightly in disappointment.

“Maybe she’s at the castle with Princess Dora?” The pale one suggested--it was the one with the sultry voice, a female if Love wasn’t mistaken. “We should go check there next, though if she’s not there too, we could hang with Dora while waiting for her to come back.”

“Can I go wait in the Specter Speeder then?” The other one asked, sounding tense, “Even if this is Dora’s kingdom, Danny, it’s still as creepy as the rest of the Ghost Zone and I’d really rather have protection.”

Danny laughed, shaking his head. “Hey, what am I then?” He shoved him lightly, “Let’s go check with Princess Dora then, maybe you can ask her about getting tech to work while we’re there.”

The other brightened at this, his odd teal eyes seeming to sparkle. “Yeah, good idea!”

“Okay, which way’s the castle then?” The dark female asked, looking around the clearing, but then she froze as her eyes landed on the tree Love was in.

“It’s--” Danny was just turning to answer her when he saw his friend’s shocked expression, and he stopped. “Uh, Sam?”

“Danny, is that...” The other human, who had followed her gaze, pointed nervously in the direction Sam was looking.

Danny quickly turned to look, tense as if expecting danger, but then he lit up cheerfully, his guard dropping. “Love!” He called up to her happily, stepping toward the tree, “Geez, what’re you doing over there? Come on down, I want to introduce you to some friends of mine!”

Love narrowed her eyes, but she climbed down the large evergreen in a slithering motion, stopping at its base, still hidden in the shadows. Danny seemed to sense the tension just then, because his smile dropped into a frown when he saw her defensive posture--her muscles coiled as if ready to spring.

Now that Love was closer to the creatures, the scent she had caught earlier suddenly made sense, especially now that she was getting a full, complete whiff of it. These were living, breathing humans--not demons. They didn’t glow, their breaths were hot, and Love could hear their hearts beating if she really listened for them.

There were two live humans in the realm of the dead, and they were near her home. They were near her halfling.

“Love...?”

Green eyes constricted into angry, thin slits as she hissed hatefully,  _“Humans.”_

Danny recoiled at the nearly spat-out word, even if he didn’t understand it. Very carefully, he stepped forward, purposefully putting himself between his friends and the distrustful dragon. Just the same, the two humans took a step back, exchanging glances of apprehension and surprise.

“Hey, Love--it’s just me, and you like me, right? It’s okay--these are my friends.” He held out his hands in a placating manner, “Trust me, okay? They’re not going to hurt you, just like Dora’s people don’t hurt you, and like how I don’t hurt you...”

Love growled,  _“Humans took my life... humans have never been kind to me. Why should I trust them?”_  She snarled dangerously,  _“Why did you bring them here, half-breed?”_

“Hey, calm down, okay?” Danny said softly, trying to be soothing--he obviously didn’t understand what Love was saying. “They don’t have weapons, see?” He turned his head to look at his friends, “Guys, hold up your hands, show her you’re harmless.”

“I feel like we’re being held up by cops,” the dark-skinned one muttered, but he did as the white-haired ghost said, holding out his hands similar to how Danny was. “This is why I would have preferred staying in the Speeder.”

“I don’t think it’s weapons she’s wary of,” the pale one said slowly, doing the same, “Didn’t you and Dora say that the dragons of her time didn’t get along well with humans...?”

“But she’s been doing fine with me and Dora and the guys at the castle...” Danny frowned, turning back to look at Love, moving one hand closer to the black dragon--but she didn’t push against it like normal. His expression became worried and concerned. “What’s the matter, Love? Is it really because they’re humans?”

She growled in warning, and he flinched back when she lowered slightly on her feet, as if readying to pounce.

“Danny, has she ever encountered a human since she died?” The pale one asked again, her lavender gaze pointedly avoiding the Wind Walker’s intense green glare, as if she knew better than to provoke Love with eye contact.

“Well--I mean...” Danny’s eyebrows raised in realization, “no--she hasn’t. But that doesn’t make a difference, right...? I mean, ghosts like me and Dora were once human, so I thought it was okay.”

“Danny, your parents don’t even consider that ghosts were once human, even if they say ghosts are post- _human_  consciousnesses,” the dark-skinned one pointed out, stepping back nervously as Love snapped her gaze to him, sweating from his brow when she bared her teeth threateningly. He continued slowly, “The majority of Amity Park don’t consider ghosts as former humans, even knowing their ghost story--it’s why no one’s ever connected Fenton and Phantom.”

“It’s really only us.” The female added softly, and Danny looked back at her with wide green eyes. “Even ghosts barely consider themselves as once-human. So did you really think Love would consider you or the other ghosts once-human too?”

“Oh.” Danny turned forward again, looking mournfully up at Love--and she faltered slightly at that expression. “Oh--I guess... I never thought about it, even if I talked to you about it a lot, but I never showed you, huh?”

Constricted pupils widened slightly in piqued interest and curiosity, but they still narrowed to slits periodically.  _“What are you speaking of, halfling?”_  She grumbled, frowning at him with bared teeth.

“All the other ghosts already... they just  _know_ , so I guess I assumed you did too.” Danny held out his hand to pet her like normal, but he didn’t come closer, waiting for her to come to him. “Sorry, Love. But me and Dora told you, right? I’m human too.”

No one moved for several seconds, and then a swirl of light washed over Danny, and Love recoiled in surprise at the sudden white flash, closing her eyes quickly to block it. Another scent of a human reached her senses--it was strangely familiar, like an amplified version of something she already knew. It was a scent with an underlying taste of fear and death, subdued by the overwhelming scent of something very, very alive.

Her ears twitched, picking up on a faint heartbeat, slow and steady and there.

When she finally blinked away the spots in her sensitive eyes, Danny was gone, and in his place with his arms still held out was a skinny, pink-skinned human with a messy mop of black head-fur, and eyes as bright as a sky she had not seen since she had died.

_A human... Danny?_

He was staring straight at her, those blue orbs pleading and hopeful. 

“Love?” He whispered softly when she didn’t move for a long time, staring at him in disbelief.

And just as soon as he said it, he was nearly toppled over by Love’s ground-shaking roar, a hot, sulfuric breath pushing his hair back with its sheer force. He managed to keep his ground, used to loud sounds and wail-rolled wind, but his two friends did fall over, covering their ears with their hands.

“Love, calm down!” The black-haired boy shouted, sensing the fear in her tone, and in another flash of light, the white hair and black body and green eyes were back. “It’s me, it’s just me!” He shot into the air next to her head, holding up his hands to her in that familiar way, “See? It’s still me! I’m not going to hurt you!”

 _“You’re_ human _.”_

“Love, it’s me, I’m still Danny,” he said soothingly, trying to stop her angry, scared roaring, looking directly into her green eyes, “Listen to me, Love. No one is going to hurt you anymore, you don’t have to be scared of humans or anything else.”

The roars quieted to growls, and Danny dared to reach out his hand, touching the tip of her snout--she stopped in a breath, and he could feel her muscles tensing under his hand, but she had frozen still.

“Sorry... sorry, I’ll bring my friends back another day. It looks like you need time to think about this, huh.” Danny said softly, floating backward slowly, his fingers reluctantly parting from her leathery skin. “Not all humans are bad, Love. We can’t all be like the ones you used to know.”

He drifted back to his friends, who had gotten to their feet, but he didn’t turn his back to the dragon as he murmured to them, “Let’s go guys. We’ll head back early.”

They nodded in understanding, still shaking a bit. “Y-yeah...” And without a word between them, the two humans headed back into the forest. Danny followed slowly, but his green eyes never left Love’s until he reached the tree line. He finally broke his gaze and turned away to trail after them, whispering a quiet farewell.

Love was left in the clearing before her cave, confusion and anguish boiling deep in her mind.

~~~

Love curled up next to the river by her cave, tired of sitting in the dark and thinking about what had happened the last time Danny visited. So now she sat quietly outside and watched the clear greenish liquid flow past, frowning at the unfamiliarity of it despite having lived in Dora’s domain for some time now.

She could see her reflection in all the green--a black blur against the swirling sky of the same toxic color. Some days, more than others, she remembered the endless blue ocean that surrounded her former home, and the white-gray skies in the mornings when she woke up before her children to hunt for some food.

The thought of her children still hurt--the thought that she was without them now pained her heart more than she could put into words. They had still been young when she had last seen them--when she was still alive. They had been tiny and little, and they could barely hunt for themselves or breathe fire more than the occasional smoky sneeze, even if they were fast flyers for such small nestlings--but she had been taken from them before she could see them grow big and strong.

Her home had been attacked by humans, and she had died in the battle--and likely, her children did too, but she didn’t  _know_. She held onto the vain hope that they had survived, willing herself to believe they were because nothing tugged at her heart that told her otherwise--but then again, she was over a thousand years dead, so maybe she missed the opportunity to feel that. She didn’t know what happened to them, she thought, as she once again remembered the fear that had flashed through her son’s eyes before everything had gone dark.

Maybe the humans had been merciful to kill her first. But the thought that they had killed her children too... that just made her  _angry_. It turned her soul into intense fire and raging storms and howling winds, because she was a mother, and she would do anything to make sure her children were safe--even if it meant defying every law of nature and rising from the dead. Even if it meant changing time itself, if only she could go back and kill the humans that had dared to set foot on her home that night.

The Wind Walker queen was so busy seething that she was startled by her own furious cry--it ripped from her throat with such hate and spite that she barely recognized it as hers. She hadn’t even realized she had gotten to her feet, glaring down at her reflection. But the sound had given her pause, and green eyes seemed to be staring clearly back at her from the blurry, watery image below her.

The silence was still for a long time--not even the river dared to whisper its usual babbling. Love stared into the eyes that mirrored her and thought,  _I don’t recognize them._

The rage melted away and with startling abruptness, Love felt tired. She eased herself to the ground again, her head dipping low to get nearer to the water’s surface, her gaze never breaking from her reflection’s.

The eyes had changed with hers, but when she had caught sight of them they had been slits of thin black and wide glowing green and pure unbridled resentment. It sent a shiver down her spine because she had seen her eyes before--she had been angry before, but this was different. This wasn’t a mother’s fury--this was bitterness and revenge. It was prejudice and spite--and she knew she couldn’t use her children as an excuse for those feelings.

Exhaustion washed over her as she realized that what she wanted wasn’t to make sure her children lived past that night--because at the back of her mind, at the darkest corner of her heart, she knew they had not. What she wanted was vengeance, to pay back the humans for killing her and her beloved children.

And somewhere along the way, somewhere in the blinding rage, she had begun to think that all humans were the same.

Even Danny.

Danny, whose green eyes reminded her of her son’s. Danny, who had been nothing but kind and patient to her. Danny, who had from the start, told her he was human too.

She had thought that even Danny was the same as the disgusting creatures that had killed her.

_All humans are the same._

Even the other Danny, whose blue eyes reminded her of her  _daughter’s_.

And that made her stop and wonder.

Those eyes haunted her with their hope and apprehension and the echoes of disappointment she had seen when the betrayal in her roars became evident.

Danny really did remind her so much of her children, because the last time she had seen her daughter, her eyes had been exactly the same--Love had told her to hide and stay safe, and that she would be back soon. Her daughter had made her promise she would be back soon--and Love honestly didn’t know if her daughter had really believed her when she swore she would.

The disappointment she had seen in Danny’s eyes must have been the exact same look her daughter had had when she realized her mother wasn’t coming back.

What had she looked like when the humans came for her too? Did she have the same panic as her brother?

Love felt rage begin to boil anew at the thought of the humans hunting her daughter, but she quickly shoved it down, shaking her head sadly.

_How can I have the right to still be called ‘Love’, when all that consumes my thoughts now is hate..._

She didn’t deserve to be called that anymore.

Distantly, she remembered thinking Danny would be a “Love” too. Even if he had feared her at first... even if she hated humans and that seemed to hurt him... the fact that he came back--and the fact that he still planned to come back--meant that his care for her was genuine. The Wind Walker didn’t know if that was “love” or not, but she liked to think that it was.

Danny was a human, but Danny was “Love”.

It didn’t make sense, somehow, when the black dragon thought of what humans should have been. The image of that tiny human boy with the black hair and blue eyes didn’t reconcile with her image of the large, ferocious humans with the frightening voices and silver weapons.

His words came back to her,  _“Not all humans are bad, Love. We can’t all be like the ones you used to know.”_

And she laid her head down on the soft, wet bank of the river, desperately wanting to believe him as she closed her eyes and let out a soft, melancholy whine.

She really wanted to be okay with Danny--and with his friends, because she had seen from his protective stance that they were the reason for his love, even in her rage-filled panic. She didn’t want to distrust them and guard herself simply for being born the creatures that they were. She didn’t want to be hate and bitterness and vengeance.

She wanted to be Love.

The keening of her mournful tears mixed with the peaceful sounds of the river and the cold winds when she realized she  _wasn’t_  that anymore.

Love had died, after all. All that was left was her ghost.

~~~

Dora knew that, on some days, her newest friend still needed time to adjust to her surroundings. She seemed fine on the days Dora had come to visit, and she had been outwardly collected on the days she came to visit Dora. But she had picked her home in the cave up the river because it was secluded and she had wanted it that way, and Dora knew better than to visit her when she wanted to be alone.

Some days, the distant trill of mourning reached her ears, and she gazed sadly out the window of her room, wishing that she didn’t know when Love was grieving. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to help--but Love had carefully kept up a royal, strong facade so she could keep herself together, and Dora wanted to respect that the titanic black dragon didn’t want to appear weak.

The fact that Dora knew she could be would probably put her on her guard. She was still so distrustful, and Dora honestly couldn’t blame her.

Dora didn’t know much about Love--she had been learning all about dragon culture from the queenly beast, but Love had rarely ever said anything about her own personal life. Dora didn’t even know how many children she had--just that she had loved them dearly, and lost them with her untimely death. And that most of all, Dora knew, was what set Love on the path of bitterness.

Sometimes Dora thought that Love called her “little one” to tease her, but other times she was well aware that Love did that because she saw the princess as a nestling, because she needed someone to mother, because it gave her a sense of familiarity. And to Love, Dora  _was_  a child--she asked as many questions about their culture as a nestling would, her wings were small in comparison to the grand Silver Phantoms of the past, and Dora was young and forever a teenager--whereas Love was the equivalent of an ancient.

Love was old, and maybe her death wasn’t as untimely so much as it was simply unfortunate. It had been abrupt, and for a being who had lived on for so many years, whose youth never left her with age, the sudden mortality of the situation had never fully dawned on her.

And as Dora listened to those quiet, distant draconic sobs, she could conclude that Love had now fully realized that she had  _died_ \--because from the sounds of it, she was mourning  _herself_.

Love would probably never be done mourning her children and what she had been ripped away from, and missing the loved ones of a past life was normal for ghosts. Yearning for that past was expected--ghosts formed because they had been attached to that life, after all. But now Love had realized that she was never going to have any of that back, and that the yearning would never go away.

Ghosts yearned--they obsessed. Their very natures were different from living beings because of that one core fact. Thoughts that appeared normal at first would become twisted and singular, a focus they wouldn’t be able to draw away from. Most ghosts realized what was happening in time, just like Love was realizing, but they would continue letting the thoughts twist them because they couldn’t help it. Most of the time they couldn’t stop it--and most of the time, they didn’t want to.

But Love had noticed the change in her thoughts and, undoubtedly, was trying to resist it. Dora knew she was--after all, she called herself “Love” and bore the name proudly because it had been given to her by those who acknowledged that she had so much of it; but the first things Dora had seen of her were fear and anger and hate, and that was telling of her fate. Love was now aware of which way her thoughts would twist, and how it would turn her away from her dear namesake.

Dora was confident that Love would fight the change, because even through the haze of the beginnings of her obsession, the great black dragon obviously  _wanted_  to have more love than hate, to stay as caring as she was when she was alive.

Dora didn’t know Love that well, but she knew that much.

~~~

“Hey Princess Dora.” Danny waved glumly as he floated into the courtyard, the gates closing with a slam behind him.

“Good day, Sir Phantom,” Dora curtsied briefly before she straightened and peered up at his face, “...I doubt your long face is because of any recent fights. You’ve been worried about Wind Walker Love, then?”

Danny blinked slowly, his green eyes trailing up to her. “How did you know?”

Dora gave a sad grimace. “She is my friend as well, Sir Phantom. And I hear her mourning all the time--I hear it as well as you can feel it whenever you come here.”

The ghost boy winced. “Has she been crying again?” He asked softly, his tone concerned and his eyes darting his the direction of the mountains.

“I do not know what about, but yes, she has.” Dora paused. “You seem to know more of her current depression than I do, however. More than usual, at least.”

“I went to visit her a few days ago--I brought my friends, though, and... I dunno, she got upset. I think it was because she doesn’t trust humans.” Danny fidgeted uncomfortably, “I thought I’d give her some time to cool down, but...”

“Time will heal, but time can only do so much.” Dora shook her head, “Shall we go speak with her then? She’s usually more composed with other people around.”

“Yeah, actually knowing what she’s saying would probably help in having a conversation with her.” Danny sighed, smiling weakly at his blonde friend. “I just hope she isn’t still angry because of last time...”

Dora quirked an eyebrow. “What exactly happened?”

“I turned human and she freaked out.” The white-haired ghost boy rubbed his head nervously, his eyes trailing away, “So... I really don’t know what she’ll do when she sees me.”

Dora studied him carefully for a moment, looking him up and down, before saying, “Turn human.”

“What?” Danny looked up at her in alarm, incredulous as he asked, “Um, sorry, but are you  _nuts_? She nearly attacked me last time for that! I mean, not that she did, but...”

Dora took his hand and stopped his rambling, her red eyes resolutely meeting his lively green ones. “Trust me, Sir Phantom. It will be good for her.” She pulled her hand back after giving his a pat, nodding assuredly to herself. “If she’s upset at humans as you say, then the best way to ease her off her anger is to get her used to them. And... I believe she can change and grow past this, if you could show her your other self and all the wonder it brings.” Her eyes twinkled with knowledge that seemed fitting of her sixteen hundred years, and Danny was suddenly struck by the thought that she was wizened despite her youth, and that she probably knew something about Love that he didn’t.

He hesitated, but after a moment of thought, he nodded, the white rings forming at his waist and sliding over his body in both directions, giving him life and warmth. Dora smiled a little, reminiscing and wistful as she commented, “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen this half of you, Sir Phantom. Just like your other half, you have grown well as a human too, it seems.”

The black-haired boy blinked and looked down at himself. “Oh, yeah--it has, hasn’t it?” He mumbled, looking back up at his friend, “Wasn’t the last time like... literally during the beauty pageant?”

Dora winced a bit, nodding. “Yes--though you being a human in the human world is to be expected, as is it common for you to be a ghost here in the ghost world. So it is not a surprise I haven’t had much chance to encounter your human half.” She paused, “Speaking of that time... Perhaps if I appear human to Wind Walker Love, it would also help her get used to humans--but that is for another day. I’d have to find the charm that allowed me that form, anyhow.”

Danny tilted his head. “That’s what that was? Huh. You and your ghostly artifacts, I swear.” He shook his head fondly. “Right, so--to Love’s?” He stopped mid-turn, looking down at himself. “You know it might have been a better idea to transform when we got there. It’s a pretty long walk.”

Dora chuckled, touching her amulet as it glowed. “Save your energy. You can ride me.”

The human teenager looked up in time to see her form morph, green skin changing to blue scales and blonde hair giving way to green horns, and he grinned. “You know, Sam got to ride you but I never did. She always said it was awesome, though.”

Dora gave a sharp-toothed grin, lowering herself to the ground so Danny could climb on. “Well, then it will be my pleasure to give you your first ride, then.”

Danny hopped on in one jump, gracefully swinging his leg over her back and situating himself comfortably between her wings and her green spine-fins. Holding on with both hands on her neck, he signaled he was ready, and she took off.

He grinned widely as he looked over Dora’s shoulder to check out the view--the forest slid by underneath them, the castle becoming distant, and the river crossed his vision as Dora began to follow it upstream and into the mountains.

Dora’s domain had always been amazing, having as many acres as it had people--sometimes he was impressed when he realized just how big it was. Flying up to it and seeing it as a floating island in the abyss of the Ghost Zone had always made it seem so small.

There were wide expanses of forest and farmlands, and all throughout the land were scattered villages and clusters of ghosts who lived under Dora’s care. He could spot a few in the distance, hiding in the forests, and he wondered how Dora managed to keep track of all of them when they were so far apart and away from her central kingdom.

The fact that Dora ruled over all of this, and she did it well, was a testament to her power--she might have been called a princess, but by all rights she was a  _queen_.

Sometimes Danny wondered if she stuck to being “Princess Dora” because she was used to it--she had died as “Princess Dora” and she was too young to take that title, according to the society of her time at least, but more than that she was a ghost. And ghosts didn’t often do well with change.

Yet Dora had changed despite that--she had definitely different from the shy, meek girl he had met two years ago--thanks to Sam she was more confident, and she ruled her kingdom with kindness and pride. She had spent sixteen hundred years thinking she would never be able to rise to the throne, thinking she’d never be able to grow up because she never got to go to her coming of age ball, thinking that was what she needed to properly enter womanhood and be acknowledged with the crown that was her birthright.

And here she was, all age and wisdom and royalty packed into one tiny, young body, with a burning resolve to better her kingdom and herself in a way her brother never did.

Dora had changed, and that gave Danny hope that Love could change too--so that her hate for humans wouldn’t consume her the way he had seen hate consume other ghosts, so that she wouldn’t forget all the things that made her “Love”.

His thoughts fully turned to the Night Fury as they landed in the clearing in front of the cave. Worry wormed itself to the forefront of his expression as he spotted her sitting by the river, her long tail curled around herself as she looked despondently down at her reflection.

She lifted her head upon their arrival and stared at them, her nostrils flaring as she sniffed the air and her eyes narrowing when she saw Danny sitting on Dora’s back. Her lips pulled back to bare her teeth, but the hiss that had been halfway out of her throat stopped abruptly for some reason, and she remained completely still.

“Were you about to gripe about humans?” Dora tilted her head, apparently having heard the half-formed thought that escaped the black dragon.

A low rumble was the only answer Danny heard, and he carefully slipped off Dora’s back while they talked.

“You were, weren’t you... but then you realized it was Sir Phantom,” Dora glanced down at her companion, “so I see you’ve met his other form.”

Love’s eyes flickered to Danny briefly before she returned to Dora, mumbling something else. Danny’s eyes didn’t leave her, though, searching her as if he could see her soul and find out exactly what would cheer her up.

“Perhaps it is disgraceful to you, but I do not mind being ridden by humans.” Dora lifted her head in challenge, “It means someone trusts me to carry them safely. So it is my honor to be trusted with his life.”

Danny looked up at her abruptly, surprised by the statement. With a tiny smile, he reached over and stroked the side of her neck, acknowledging the truth to her words. Love’s frills flattened against her head, and she leered calculatingly at the silver-blue dragon and the human beside her.

Danny looked back at her, his hand returning to his side as his smile dropped back into worry.

“How is it a disgrace?” He spoke up quietly, hesitantly, and Love’s peridot gaze snapped to him. “Humans and dragons didn’t get along in your time, fine, but how is a human riding a dragon a disgrace? No one ever did it before right?”

Love narrowed her eyes in a glare, but Danny didn’t flinch.

“How do you know it wouldn’t have been regarded as amazing?” He questioned her, and she frowned at him. “Humans and dragons didn’t get along,” he repeated, “so if a dragon found one and got along with him... wouldn’t that be something that’s never been done before? A dragon got a human to not attack it, a dragon got a human to trust it with his life. I think that’s pretty amazing.”

Love’s pupils had lost some of their constriction, and Danny grinned nervously at her.

Dora smiled approvingly at his words. “You’re thinking like a dragon, Sir Phantom.” She nudged him with her paw, “From the human perspective--and this was certainly how it was written in the books--dragons had always attacked humans, so when the author of the manuals became the first known rider of a dragon, it was regarded as an amazing feat.”

Love sighed and growled something softly, looking away at last. She returned to looking at the river, pointedly ignoring them.

Dora’s eyes were blank as she processed the draconic words, and Danny frowned when he saw her smile fade. What had Love said?

The blue dragon didn’t say anything for a while, looking between Love and Danny, and Danny wondered if maybe Love had said something offensive or hurtful about him.

When she still hadn’t said anything, and Love didn’t look like she would be turning back for a while, Danny called out softly, “Dora?”

“...‘If he thinks like a dragon, then it will be easier to think of him as one.’” Dora whispered, echoing the Night Fury’s words, “I believe, Sir Phantom, that that is her way of trying to cope with the fact that you are human.”

Danny frowned. “But it won’t solve the problem--she got upset last time  _because_  I’m human, how can she just pretend I’m something else? Why--”

“Because she wants you here.”

The half-ghost’s half-formed rant stopped dead in its tracks, staring up at the soft red gaze meeting his wide blue one, filled with sympathy and knowing and a spark of amusement. He spun around to look at the dragon laying by the river, still ignoring them, and he realized that she was doing that because she didn’t want to hurt him if she decided to follow instinct and obsession and attack him.

She wanted him there--she still wanted to be his friend, to extend the lengths of her love even after losing so much already and drowning in grief. She loved because it made her better, and it subdued the feeling of loss, but she was afraid of her obsession--and that meant she was willing to overcome it.

“...She still won’t get better if she doesn’t think of me as human,” Danny sighed, “but if that helps... then it’ll be the first step.”

Dora smiled and nodded in agreement, turning her head to look back at Love. Danny followed her gaze and transformed without a warning, startling both dragons--Dora jumped a little at the flash of light, her wings unfolding behind her in reflex, while Love’s head turned slightly, her nostrils flaring as his familiar ghostly scent reached her nose.

He flew up to her, ignoring her sharp, pointed look. “Sorry about last time, Love. But my friends really do want to meet you, so whenever you think you’re ready, let me know and I’ll bring them back here, alright?” He grinned at her, holding out his hand, “For now, though... are you okay? I get the feeling you’ve been moping, Love.”

She stared at him for a moment, before she leaned her head forward and sniffed his hand. For a moment, she looked relieved at the familiarity of the scent under the white gloves, and she nudged his hand gratefully.

Dora looked surprised by the next grumble that rolled out of her mouth.

“You don’t--what do you mean, you’re not ‘Love’ anymore?” Danny’s head snapped over at this, looking alarmed.

The Night Fury sighed and shook her head. She growled something sadly, her eyes flickering back down to her reflection.

“Why did she say that?” Danny frowned, glancing between her and Dora.

“She said that dragon ‘names’ are based on the trait that they embody the most, remember? But... she feels she no longer has the right to prize ‘love’ anymore.” Dora explained, “As long as there’s hate, even for humans... she doesn’t deserve it. Or at least, that’s what she says.”

“That’s dumb,” Danny frowned, and both dragons looked at him quizzically, “I also recall the explanation being that it was your most valued trait--and that it was decided by others.” He reached out and stroked his friend’s scales again, “If you still value love the most, then its yours. If it’s decided by others, then you don’t get to decide if it’s not ‘ _you_ ’ anymore.”

He grinned earnestly, his green eyes bright as he leaned toward her, stopping his hand but not removing it from her leathery skin. “You’re trying, Love--I can see that you are. You still have a lot of love. You want it to still be your best trait--so don’t give up, because it’s up to you to keep what you’ve already earned.”

Love stared at him, nonplussed, and a quiet warble drifted from her lips.

Dora shook her head in amusement, repeating what Love said so Danny could understand it.

“You really are like a dragon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to silvermoonphantom as always for helping with everything and being an inspiration. I’ve certainly been nervous about how it’s been received and about Love in general, and I’ve been really harsh on my self-criticism because of the nature of this story (two large fandoms I’m not used to, an OC I’m worried people won’t like, the fact that it’s chaptered and long compared to my normal oneshots…) but I knew from the beginning that this was for myself--though if someone else were to get as excited about it as I was, then I’ll be happy.
> 
> More on this chapter itself, though, I had gotten blocked in the middle of writing it before I put myself in Love’s place and tried to figure out what she would do after meeting Fenton. I ended up axing the next two scenes in favor of replacing it with the self-reflection piece, and I couldn’t be more proud of how I wrote that part.
> 
> Love has somewhat grown much more than I intended her to (I-I think it was partly because HtBaG had inspired me to give her a voice, and that got me personally attached to my own OC). I had written the first chapter with the vague allusion that Love might have been Toothless, so I sort of wonder how many people mistook her for him before the second chapter came out. I actually didn’t plan for half this chapter to happen the way it did. Nonetheless though, I hope people can connect to Love the same way I do and the same way Danny does in this fic--because Love’s story is about overcoming anguish and mourning, and Danny’s is about helping her. I don’t think I could ever properly convey the feelings of loss with words, but I really hope I did it well enough here.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading--I think things will start to pick up next chapter!


	4. Two Queens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This turned out rather looong, on accident? But it also didn’t turn out to be the action-y chapter I thought it would be... It was mostly because of the conversation between Dora and Love in the first part... oops. This chapter was over 10k words s-so I actually cut a lot of the action and saved it for the next chapter. So that one will hopefully be up... soon? It’s already half-written in any case!
> 
> I would like to clarify that I’ve been refining the language and culture of dragons a bit--I’m not changing previous chapters, but a lot of the first part was me exploring explanations of it. For example, Dora referred to “Titan Wing” in a previous chapter, it should be noted that she made that translation of her own accord, and Love was actually “saying” something else in her own language (as explained in the first sentence, she actually said “fullwing” and Dora got the implication and used the human words for it accordingly). Similarly, some of Love’s monologues in previous chapters also referred to her children as a “daughter”/”son”/“sister”/“brother”, but the real dragon words for them were untranslated, etc. (As dragons as I’m imagining them don’t really have that kind of concept... At any rate, it’s not as wordy, l-like I am, so it was just me who wrote them as “brother”/“sister”/etc.--oops, s-sorry ^_^;.)
> 
> I’ve been wanting to name a chapter “Two Queens” since chapter 2, s-so I took the opportunity here, but it only relates to the first part with Dora and Love. Anyway, Enjoy!

“Alright, so I know I translated  _fullwing_  as ‘Titan Wing’, and  _hatchling_  as ‘Tiny Tooth’,” Dora said as she scribbled in her dragon manual thoughtfully, “and I can assume that what you call  _fledgling_  is the equivalent of a ‘Short Wing’, which I suppose is something like a young child or a teenager... what’s the translation for  _nestling_  then? You use the word often, but somehow I doubt it’s the equivalent of ‘Broad Wing’...”

 _“Your human words are odd.”_  Love snorted, laying her head down on her crossed paws,  _“Nestling is just a word for the younger members of my nest. I am an older member--a nest mate, a nest mother.”_

“Can there be multiple nest mothers?” Dora asked wonderingly.

 _“Certainly. I had a Silver Phantom and a Storm Sailor in my pack, however temporarily, while they were breeding. I rather miss them now, they were good friends. But they were also nest mothers, and all of us looked after the children of the whole pack when one or more of us had to leave our nest.”_  Love explained with fond exasperation, as if Dora should have already known this.

“You refer to your  _pack_  as if it’s not the same as your  _nest_ , Wind Walker Love. Why?” Dora tilted her head.

 _“Because it isn’t. My nest consisted of me, my children, and the ones I fostered as my children. My pack also included them, but ‘pack’ is more a word to refer to the whole band of the dragons who lived at my aerie--my friends, the dragons whom stayed or traveled with me but were not my species.”_  Love stretched out her wings in amusement,  _“Much like how I am now part of your pack, but I am certainly not part of your nest.”_

Dora’s glowing red eyes were suddenly large with surprise, and she looked up at the black dragon, nonplussed. “You--what?”

 _“I live in your very large aerie because you invited me, but I am not your species except that I am also a demon like you. However, I do believe we are friends now, aren’t we? That makes me a part of your pack, does it not?”_  Love lifted her head to look at the young green-skinned ghost, expectation joining amusement on her face.

“I--I didn’t know you... thought of me like that?” Dora gasped in pure awe, “I know you call Sir Phantom and I nestlings and hatchlings, but I didn’t think... Wow, thank you? It’s... an honor.”

 _“I call you hatchling to tease, little one, but I suppose I do consider you part of my_ nest _as well.”_  Love gave a draconic grin, gummy and toothless because she had her teeth retracted at the moment. It looked rather silly, and Dora had to fight not to laugh, though a wide grin broke out on her own face.  _“Though, as I’ve just said we are pack mates, I must insist that you no longer call me Wind Walker--we are not strangers anymore, after all. Even Danny calls me simply ‘Love’, as if he were a dragon in my pack as well. And he might as well be.”_  The Night Fury commented with a small smile.  _“I do not even call you Silver Phantom Dora--though I suppose it would have been polite.”_

Dora blushed a dark green, her smile becoming shy. “I--I’m sorry, I just… I suppose it is habit,” she admitted sheepishly, “I am a princess, I’ve been taught to speak politely at all times. And what little I did know of dragon culture was so basic, limited to interactions with my brother and parents, and… I’ve never been part of a dragon pack before, so I didn’t know and I called you that because I thought it was courtesy.”

 _“You call me such out of respect?”_  Love asked curiously,  _“You need not accord me such respect--I am not even your ‘alpha’, as you call it. Just call me Love.”_

Dora blinked in shock again. “It would be my honor!” She sounded a bit gleeful at this, her grin making its way back to her face.

_“Including Danny, we may be only ‘three’, but we can certainly be considered a pack. Though I suppose we may be ‘four’ if we include that other dragon-heart I smell when I am near your castle. Why have I not met them, by the way?”_

Dora’s happy, excited expression fell away in an instant, and she frowned deeply. “My... my brother?” She asked warily. Love looked alarmed and gave her a concerned look, leaning over and sniffing at her as if her scent could tell the other how she was feeling. Dora hesitated, trying to find a way to explain it. “He was locked away, because he... did some very bad things. We took his amulet, the one like mine,” she put her hand to the stone on her necklace, a dragon’s eye gemstone that gleamed the same green as the rest of the ghostly energy around them, “and we put it away somewhere safe, so he can’t do bad things anymore.”

Love nuzzled her gently, bumping her large nose against Dora’s chest. The princess sighed and stroked her scales gingerly, before the dragon pulled back and gave her a long, hard look, as if trying to decide whether to continue with the topic at hand, though Dora’s distress was clear on her face. Finally, she seemed to have come to a decision, because she asked,  _“What is a_ brother _?”_

Dora cracked another smile, small but grateful that Love changed the subject and moved it away from her personal ties. “You don’t have a word for it? Hmm, how to explain... ‘brother’ is what the offspring of the same parents call the male offspring of the same parents.”

 _“And what are the females called?”_  Love tilted her head.  _“Why are they separated by male and female?”_

“Sister. I am a sister, because my brother and I have the same parents. I am my parents’ daughter, and my brother is my parents’ son--those are words that define offspring as well.” Dora chuckled, “We separate things by gender because... well, I don’t know why. It’s easier? Like mother and father, and king and queen.”

Love slowly shifted how she was sitting, looking thoughtful.  _“King and queen are distinct roles in dragon hierarchies. They can be either male or female, unlike yours._ Mother _is the word for one who lays eggs, it is what I am, a ‘mother’._ Father _is one who sired them.”_  She murmured to herself for the most part, connecting the human words and meanings Dora said to the draconic words she inherently knew only by guessing their context. Then she looked up at Dora, who was writing things down in her book again, and said,  _“We do not have words for_ son _and_ daughter _and_ brother _and_ sister _. We have ‘cubs’ and ‘pups’ depending on the species, which refer to those born of our own eggs; and ‘clutch mate’, which refers to eggs hatched at the same time in the same nest.”_

“Even other dragons’, not just yours? Like the Silver Phantom and Skrill you mentioned earlier, their eggs hatching at the same time mean their children are  _clutch mates_?” Dora tilted her head, and when Love nodded, the princess hummed in thought. “In English, ‘siblings’ is the gender-neutral term for both brothers and sisters. I think that’s the closest approximation... Though...  _clutch mate_ , I suppose, might also include cousins? Hmm... but it’s not quite just that either... how do I translate this word into English... ‘clutch mate’ maybe?”

Love huffed, laying her head down and muttering,  _“You have too many human words. What are_ cousins _?”_

Dora tried to explain the concept, and Love managed to follow it quite well until nieces and nephews and aunts and uncles came up, and then she started complaining about being confused because dragon families weren’t so complicated in structure. Dora sighed and gave up trying to explain, then went back to asking about terms from the dragon manual, as she had been doing before.

“Broad Wing refers to... adolescent dragons, I suppose? They are grown, but they are not Titan Wings-- _fullwings_.” She tried to explain the concept, “It comes after fledgling. Unless there’s no stage between fledgling and fullwing, then...”

 _“Stripling.”_  Love interrupted her with a snort,  _“Adolescents, or what you call ‘teenagers’, I suppose--though the term technically applies to the later stages of fledgling as well, as it is a transitional stage. But the word you are looking for is stripling--the stage between fledgling and fullwing. I do not know what an English equivalent would be, though.”_

“Oh! ‘Stripling’!” Dora made a delighted sound, writing it down using the English approximation of the word. “I think it’s close enough, at least. Hatchling, fledgling, stripling, fullwing...” She paused, “Which one would I be? Would you happen to know?”

 _“How old are you?”_  Love returned.  _“Did you not say once you were sixteen hundred human years old? By all rights, you are technically a fullwing, as I am.”_  She paused, her green eyes growing solemn,  _“But... you also said you became the demon as you are at a rather young age. How old?”_

“Fifteen--a day away from sixteen.” Dora’s lips tugged into a frown, “I was almost an adult, and humans would consider me an adolescent. Would I be a stripling?”

 _“No, you are far too young. Your wings are too small, as well, despite your large size. You’d be a fledgling.”_  Love sighed, laying her head down and eyeing the ghostly princess thoughtfully.  _“I suppose, then, Danny is as well, though he has no wings so it would be hard to tell.”_

“Sir Phantom is not a dragon, Wind W--Love. Of course he doesn’t have wings.” Dora reminded her gently--and Love fell silent, refusing to acknowledge the first statement.

Dora sighed and shook her head, flipping the pages of her book to find more things to ask Love about. She was startled when Love spoke abruptly, and she didn’t miss the way the Night Fury deliberately changed the subject.

 _“You_ are _far too young...”_  She murmured,  _“Your human age... it is only slightly older than my own children--only slightly older than my ‘daughter’, as you might call her. She had just become a fledgling of twelve human years when she... when I...”_  She trailed off, looking up at her companion sorrowfully.  _“You are_ young _... why did you become a demon, when you were so_ young _?”_

Dora froze, not shifting her eyes up from the page she had stopped on. Love slowly lifted her head in concern, scenting the apprehension rolling off the ghost girl in waves. Neither said anything for a long time, and Love was confused as she watched a flurry of emotions war on the princess’ face--shock, anger, sadness, fear, anxiety... the mother Night Fury leaned over again, nudging her companion in worry.

“...Wi--Love... I must warn you, as I have warned Sir Phantom in the past for his naivety... but to ask that of a ghost is rude.” Dora finally spoke, though her voice was quiet and strained, “To ask a ghost how they died... to ask them to remember how they died, or why... it is painful. You should know this--our first formal meeting ended because you  _remembered_.”

Love made a sound of concerned alarm, nuzzling her more insistently now, and Dora finally lifted her hands, hugging Love’s snout as best she could.  _“I am sorry,”_  Love murmured in a comforting rumble,  _“I did not know... I_ understand _, but I did not know. It seems... I still have much to learn of your culture, as well.”_

The little ghost was trembling slightly, but after a moment, she nodded, gathering herself and pulling away, but leaving her hands on Love’s pebbly, scaly skin. “If a ghost were to tell you on their own, it is fine... but do not ask. Just as you should not ask what one’s obsession is--just as I have not asked or spoken of yours, whether or not you’ve figured it out already.” She shook her head with a sigh. “I am one of the older ghosts, so I have had much time to move past my pain... but it still hurts to remember, when I am reminded...”

_“Dora....”_

There was a long, long silence, and the two sat in mournful companionship. When Dora broke it, Love’s ears perked to attention, her entire focus on her friend.

“My whole kingdom burned,” Dora whispered, regret lacing her voice. “My parents had died, and my brother had just become king--it was just before my birthday, just before my coming out ball. But my brother... Aragon, he was not a good person, a tyrant of a ruler. Aragon was still seen as only a prince, too young to be a king, and other kings saw him as weak. He used our dragon halves to try proving our power, but... other kingdoms called us cursed, and our transformations were seen as witchcraft--as magic we employed to make ourselves stronger--we were called monsters. There was a reason my family never revealed their secrets before, and Aragon messed everything up. War was declared on us, and... our kingdom burned.”

Love nuzzled her sympathetically, then looked toward the castle in the distance, its towers seen just above the treeline.  _“Then those people there...”_

“They burned with us, for knowing our secret. Aragon--my-- _our_  power cursed them to eternity in our purgatory.” Dora shook her head, “Some of them have no reasons to be ghosts, but they are bound to us here. My brother had made them miserable, had not given them... autonomy, I suppose that would be the word. Now that I am their ruler, I can only try my best to make their afterlives comfortable for them, where my brother did not.”

_“...You are a fitting king. More than that person you call ‘brother’, by the sounds of it.”_

Dora blinked, looking up at that statement, taken completely off guard by it. “Excuse me? What do you mean, king? Wouldn’t I be a queen?” She asked, puzzled by her friend’s use of the word.

 _“You are a fitting king,”_  Love repeated nonchalantly, shifting to curl around the girl comfortingly,  _“I suppose it may confuse you because you gender such roles, but as a dragon, you would be a king.”_

“What... what is the role of a king?”

 _“One who takes care of their colony, while giving them freedom to make their own choices.”_  Love smiled softly, glad that Dora had been successfully distracted.  _“They are protectors, maintainers of peace and order.”_

“Then what was your role, if you were a queen?” Dora asked curiously, wondering about the differences in their hierarchies.

 _“It was simply the most fitting word for me. As an isolated species, I do not fill the typical queen role--queens have others take care of them, and act as the direction and guides of their colonies or hives.”_  She paused, remembering what Dora had told her about the Red Death in her books.  _“Whether that direction is rotten or not... depends on the queen.”_

“I don’t understand... it sounds as if you were more of a king.” Dora looked up at her in confusion, stroking her scales absently. “You protected your nest fiercely, up until your dying breath... and you did not command the dragons under your rule...”

 _“I am a mother. My protection extended to my nest only.”_  Love explained in a gentle purr,  _“Like I said, my role was atypical. I left my people to their own devices like a king would, but I also left them to protect and provide for themselves, for I knew they could. I gave them guidance when they needed it, but I did not need them to protect me as other queens needed their hives--but my command was not to be ignored, as is any queen’s. Kings are more lenient, and their orders are more to the benefit of all than to the benefit of themselves. I am not a king--my call was heeded when_ I _needed my people.”_

Dora was quiet for a while, thinking this over. “Okay,” she said slowly, “I... I am a king. But to humans--and ghosts--I am a... princess. A queen, if I bothered to correct them, but I do not feel like a queen quite yet, so I haven’t.”

_“Is there a difference in the king and queen roles in your human society?”_

The ghost princess shrugged. “Kings are... supposedly, more powerful. Though seeing as I overthrew my brother, and Lady Sam has been teaching me of other histories, I’ve been highly doubting that.” She grinned a little.

 _“Then let your queens be powerful,”_  Love chuckled,  _“and you will be a wonderful queen someday, if you do not believe you are so already.”_

“Th--thank you, Love.” Dora grinned, “So I guess we’re both queens then.”

_“Yes, I suppose we are. In our own respects of course.”_

~~~

Danny flew down to Dora’s domain, undoing his transformation the moment he hit the ground. Dora had been busy today--when he flew over the castle, she had waved, but gone back to talking with her adviser about something. It looked like they were organizing some sort of festival or celebration, so he left her alone and went to visit Love.

It had been a while since he had been able to visit--between school and ghost fights, he hadn’t had much time lately. But he was determined to get her used to the presence of humans, so he opted to stay human for as long as he could before she freaked out.

He approached her cave, peering into the darkness--he heard a faint breathing and an even fainter whimpering, so she must have been home. But why was she whimpering? She sounded scared. “Love?” He called into the cave, his voice bouncing off the walls--it gave him the echo he usually had in his ghost form.

Green eyes snapped open and glowed around thin black slivers within the cover of the shadows, and Danny startled. Had he just woken her up from a nightmare or something?

He barely had time to register what the slits meant before a whistling whine of charge-up and a blueish glow flashed through the cave, and he yelped, throwing up his arms defensively. White-hot fire bore into him before he could call upon his ghost powers--they didn’t come as instinctively in his human form--and he screamed in pain.

Love made an alarmed sound, apparently having fully woken up and recognized Danny’s voice, and she slithered out of her cave with wide, dilated eyes filled with worry and fear. Danny crouched, doubled over in an attempt to make himself a smaller target, his arms still held over his bowed head.

The Night Fury stared at him--at the raw red and black burns on his bare forearms and the singes on the hems of his sleeves--and she whimpered, nudging him frantically. Was he okay? Danny, despite her best efforts to think of him as something other than human, was looking and smelling a lot like one right now--and she was well aware of what burns looked like and how much they hurt humans. She could still smell that distinctive “love” and demon-ness that was Danny under all the living human scents, so she knew it was Danny, but now it was heavily mingled with the smell of burning human flesh.

The skin sizzled slightly, smoking and looking almost as if it were bubbling, and Love frowned in worry because she wasn’t sure if that was supposed to happen. Was it different because Danny was half-demon?

Another whimper and nudge, and finally Danny responded by shakily lowering his arms to stare at them. “H-hi, Love,” he grinned up at her after a moment, wincing as he tried not to move too much. “Uh, sorry, I couldn’t get a shield up in time, or turn intangible--wouldn’t have worked here anyhow.”

Love frowned at him, sniffing at his arms and gently sticking out her tongue and licking the burns gingerly. He hissed in pain, pulling away, and she whimpered again.

“Hey, it’s okay--I get it, it was an accident.” Danny said softly, leaning over and bumping her nose with his relatively unharmed shoulder, “I know you’re sorry. I don’t blame you--you were probably having a nightmare about humans, right? About your death or something? Showing up as a human probably wasn’t a good idea.”

Love continued staring at him with large, upset eyes, her tail flicking anxiously, and Danny grinned reassuringly at her. “I’m fine, Love. I promise.” He held up one of his arms, showing her that he was already healing. “This isn’t the first time I’ve been burned, and certainly not the first time by a dragon either.” He chuckled, “At least this time I’ve got ice powers. It helps give me a bit of resistance, I guess?”

When the black Night Fury showed no comprehension of what he was talking about, only continuing to worry, he lifted he other hand and let a light blue aura encase it. Her eyes widened even more when his sky blue eyes glowed brighter, more cyan than before. Her green gaze flickered back and forth between his face and his arm as he gingerly brushed his fingers over the burn, his shoulders sagging in relief at the feeling of coolness.

“See, Love? I’ll be alright.” He said soothingly, switching hands to bring some relief to the other arm too. “Don’t worry about it. I’m not mad at you, I promise. I know you didn’t mean to hurt me.”

She made a choked whimpering sound, and he glanced up at her to see her watching him intensely as his burns healed at an astonishing rate--soon the raw blackened marks were nothing but patchy red ones, no worse than regular second-degree burns. In a few more minutes, they would be a faint pink, but Danny felt good enough to move now, so he uncurled from his kneeling position, standing up.

“I’m going to go ghost, just warning you so you don’t get startled.” He said slowly, and she looked at him in confusion. The ring of light appeared at his waist, and he controlled the way the light spread of him so that it was slow and not so blinding. Love didn’t even look away this time, but her gaze grew more concerned.

He sighed in relief as his ghostly form attacked the burns with his ice core, healing it faster than his human form could. It had the added benefit of covering up his arms so Love couldn’t see them anymore, but she was still murmuring in worry as she crawled up to him, sniffing his arms hesitantly.

“Love, I promise, I’m fine.” He assured her, “I heal fast, it’s one of the perks of being a ghost. But if it makes you feel better, I’ll keep putting ice on it till it’s fully healed.” To demonstrate, he made his hands and eyes glow blue again, holding his arms in a way that he could touch both of his forearms at once. She nudged one of his hands curiously, then jerked back and shivered as a chill went through her at his touch. He chuckled at her antics. “You’re a worrywart, Love.”

She grumbled a bit, her tone akin to something Danny had begun to associate with confusion on her part when she didn’t understand his words, and his grin grew wider. “It means you worry so much you’ll probably get warts--I think. I dunno, that just makes the most sense.”

The Night Fury gave him a deadpan look, as if to tell him that made no sense at all, and then she went back to frowning at his arms. He rolled his eyes, shifting and pulling one glove off carefully, sticking it in his belt for now. He pushed up the sleeve gingerly to show her how he was healing. The mark was nearly gone now--the only thing that could be shown for it was a barely visible patch of green that was supposed to be his ectoplasmic blood. He covered it with one glowing hand, and then when he removed it, the burn had disappeared completely.

“There, it’s gone. Happy now?”

She murmured in amazement, looking at his other arm curiously, so he gave a lop-sided smile and complied to her silent request, showing her his other arm too. Once she was satisfied he was fine, she looked up at him with the same awe in her eyes and nuzzled him apologetically.

“I keep saying, I’m not mad and you don’t have to be worried about me. I’ll be fine.” He said firmly, petting her affectionately. “A little attack like this isn’t going to bring me down--I’ve had worse, believe me.”

Love’s eyes trailed away and she mumbled something guiltily. Danny frowned.

“Are you feeling bad because of your nightmare, because you still can’t get over the whole hating humans thing, or because you hurt me?” He inquired with a sigh, “I mean, I understand if that’s why you attacked me in either case, but don’t beat yourself up over it. I get it--that’s why I came in human form, to try helping you get over it.”

She made a low warbling sound, shaking her head in exasperation. Honestly, how could he forgive her so easily? She had  _hurt_  him and still all he did was show her his patience and his love. And even after she did hurt him, he still wanted to  _help_  her.

That boy was surely something truly amazing.

Danny tilted his head at her, trying to decipher the sounds she was making, but he found it hard to. Unlike Dora, he couldn’t easily understand Love as if she were speaking English--though according to Dora, the language she spoke and understood was more akin to a pidgin language than anything, because she had never grown up around real, live dragons. Dora’s basic understanding of draconic speak was completely intrinsic, and Love had apparently been adjusting her speech so Dora could understand.

Dora explained once that a lot of the draconic language was embedded in the  _way_  things were said. Dragons didn’t have the same vocal cords or sound range as humans--their words were growls and purrs and hisses paired with different tones and pitches and emotions, and dragons had very good hearing specifically to catch those minuscule differences and changes in the words they “spoke”. Emotions played a big part in the language itself, as the expressions on the face, the tension of the body, and even the scents one gave off during times of stress were incorporated.

So Danny had no idea what that fond, exasperated, somewhat admiring expression meant. But he did know one thing--Love was feeling better, whether this was about the accidental attack or not.

“Well, that’s probably about a good an answer as I’m going to get,” he grinned up at her, “so, moving on--sorry I haven’t visited for a while. You wouldn’t  _believe_  the week I’ve had!”

Love stared at him incredulously, surprised that he could so easily push aside that episode, and then made a sound like a dragon’s version of a laugh, shaking her head again. Despite everything, he worried about her first--it was just like Danny to cheer her up right after walking in on her nightmare.

The ghost boy only grinned wider at the warbling laugh, motioning with his hands as he began to talk--talking about ghost fights and school events and his friends Sam and Tucker and his sister Jazz over-analyzing him again right before he came to visit her...

Love sat down on her hind haunches, tilting her head at the white-haired teenager. After a while, she got irritated with the way he was flailing his hands, still worried that he was injured, so she leaned down and nudged his arm.

Danny paused mid-sentence, blinking. “What? Did I lose you somewhere?”

Love snorted, thinking that he couldn’t lose her if neither of them had gone anywhere, and nudged his hand again.

“Did you just want petting or something?” Danny laughed, complying and stroking her scales, scratching gently at her skin like he would do to a cat or a dog. He commented idly, “Hey, I think this is actually the first time I’ve touched you without my gloves on. It feels kind of... well, it’s sort of like petting a snake, I guess, but your scales are so much bigger... maybe it’s more like running my hand across some really smooth rocks? It’s really nice.”

Love purred contentedly, pressing her head into his hands. Her skin was cool like silk, but it still had that hot quality to it that felt like the fire that had burned him earlier. It reminded him of his room on cold mornings, when his bed was warm from being slept in and his blankets felt like the nicest thing in the world despite the coolness of his room snaking in through the openings of his sleepy sanctuary.

His train of thought and his petting was interrupted when Love nudged his hands curiously, eyeing him inquisitively. He furrowed his eyebrows, not sure what she was trying to ask. “Uh...?”

Love pulled back and sighed exasperatedly, tilting her face up, her mouth high above his head and away from him, and charging up a plasma shot. He stared with wide eyes as she let the blast shoot harmlessly into the air, dissipating in the distance. Then she looked back at him and nudged his hands again, and he jumped in surprise. “Um, my hands--uh, shooting things? Are you asking about my ecto-blasts?”

She gave him a deadpan look, shifting her nose and nudging his arm now instead. He lifted his arm instinctively, and she frowned, backing off, looking a little concerned.

“Huh? I’m not still burned if that’s what you’re worried ab...” He stopped, looking down at his arms, then at his hands, then back up to the Night Fury. “Oh, were you wondering about my healing powers?”

Love nodded, shifting her sitting position so she could look at him better. He chuckled, sitting down against a nearby boulder. “Oh, yeah, it’s one of the good points about being a ghost--I think you have super healing too now, though I guess it doesn’t work the same since I’m half-ghost--I need the healing factor. Regular ghosts are... y’know, already dead, and they can’t die again. But the healing factor does help them suffer through a lot... and gets them back on their feet quicker than I’d like, unfortunately.”

He muttered about a certain Box Ghost before he looked back up at the dragon. She was still staring at him intensely.

“Uh... what, did you want to know my other powers?” Danny asked rhetorically, but he was surprised when Love nodded. He grinned and teased, "What, thinking you might get them someday?”

Love snorted, rolling her eyes. Danny laughed mirthfully, launching into an explanation of his powers--everything from the basic ecto-blasts to the odd electric pulse he was able to make sometimes, even demonstrating the powers when he could.

“...And then there’s duplication, but I  _still_  haven’t mastered that one yet--it’d be really handy for school and stuff!” The boy complained, sighing dramatically, “Anyway, my trump card--err, best move? It’s, uh, the Ghostly Wail, but it’s super destructive so I’m not going to show you that one either, but I think I’ve pretty much mastered it? I can use it without reverting back to human for a while at least, though it’s still draining on me.” He began to ramble absently, and Love quirked an eye at him, though he didn’t notice. “Which is good, because I’m nowhere near as old or experienced as  _him_  and he could do it without getting tired. I really don’t want to have that much power so easily at my disposal...”

He startled when Love nudged him, sensing that he was starting to get upset, and he chuckled warily. “Sorry, I got off topic there. Right, more powers... hmm, was that all of them?” He wondered out loud, idly stroking Love’s nose, “Umm... oh! I haven’t really practiced this power before, but I know I can do it since I did it a few times on instinct,” he grinned mischievously, his body vanishing into a puff of green smoke.

Love cried out in alarm and looked around for him in panic--before she realized the misty smoke was still floating around, and she narrowed her eyes suspiciously at it. She swiped at it gently, and she heard Danny’s voice grunt “oof!” before all the mist snapped back together and solidified. He floated in front of her, slightly off-place from where he was before, holding his head distractedly.

“Whoa--yeah, I forgot that power always makes me a bit dizzy afterward,” he commented dazedly, rubbing his forehead with one hand while the other fell limp to his side. Love prodded at him questioningly, as if wondering if he was still solid. “I think it’s like... turning into mist? I mean, ghosts are made of ectoplasm, and so far I can manipulate ectoplasm--even my own--into solid and liquid forms, sort of, so at some point I guess I figured why not try gaseous ones too?” He shrugged, shaking his head as the daze finally cleared. Love backed off when she saw he was fine, and he grinned at her.

“Funny enough, the first time I actually remember using that power was one of the first times I met Dora, before we were friends.” He told the black dragon, “She was angry about something, had me in her grip--and let me tell you, Dora’s really freakishly  _strong_  as a dragon, yeesh--and to escape her without getting crushed I did... that. I didn’t even realize it at the time.”

Danny laughed again and shook his head, his hand shooting out to steady himself against the rock as he slid down and sat against it again--admittedly, he was still dizzy, but he didn’t want to worry his newest friend. She didn’t seem to notice, distracted by his laughing, so he continued in hopes of keeping her from worrying. He’d  _actually_  be fine in a few minutes anyhow.

“I usually notice when new powers come in, you know. They pop up spontaneously all the time--I  _have_  to notice, and get control of them as soon as possible so I don’t accidentally hurt someone, but that one completely slipped by me and I didn’t realize it till I saw my future--err, I saw someone else doing it.” He faltered a bit, and Love tilted her head curiously at him. He cleared his throat and continued, “And--geez, my telekinesis was the same. I didn’t even notice I had telekinesis or that I was using it all the time till my mom saw me close a door without touching it. It took me a while to explain my way out of that one.”

Love warbled at him with an expression that resembled eyebrows being furrowed in concern, and Danny took a guess as to what she was asking. “Have my powers ever accidentally hurt someone before I got control of them?” He tried, and she nodded. “Oh, yeah, plenty of times. Tucker got more face-fulls of ecto-blasts than I can count, and the time I was developing my Ghost Stinger, no one could touch me without getting shocked.” He snorted with a hint of self-derision, “Almost all of my powers had problems like that. Some more embarrassing than others.”

The Night Fury shifted her wings, looking at them in contemplation.

“What, you had those problems too?” Danny chuckled, “What’d you do, fly into a cliff face? Another dragon? Accidentally burn down a whole forest?”

Love huffed indignantly, glaring halfheartedly at him.

“Ha, so you did!”

A soft growl, and Danny paused.

“...Not on accident, then.” He frowned, “What, you knew you were going to make mistakes so... I don’t know, you burnt down a whole forest away from everyone else or something when you were learning how to fire?”

Love shrugged, folding her wings in as if to say she was done with that part of the conversation.

“That technically doesn’t count as something going wrong with learning new abilities.” He pointed out dryly. He slumped back against his rock lazily, looking up at his companion thoughtfully. “Though I guess that’s technically what I did with my ice powers--I knew I couldn’t train my powers safely under that plant invasion, so I came here to the Ghost Zone, and Frostbite taught me how to use them.” He smiled fondly at the reminiscence, “Though it wasn’t without hurting other people, sort of--I kept freezing over the spectating yetis. I still feel kind of bad about that, I think some of them are still scared of me because of that.”

Love blinked at him curiously, her pupils more dilated than before. “You’re that interested in my ice powers?” Danny laughed, “Well, you did see a bit of it earlier, I guess.”

He sat up straighter and held out his hand, his eyes glowing blue. A prism of ice formed itself over his palm, floating and spinning serenely. “You know, this is probably the first and only power I have that’s actually able to  _create_  something, rather than just destroy or defend.” He said softly, “Next to flying, I think it’s my favorite power.”

Love purred, her head leaning down to sniff at the crystal, seeming enchanted by it. Danny grinned and changed its shape, making it bigger--making it resemble a tiny Night Fury in his palm. The queen dragon hummed in delight, her eyes wide.

“Yeah, it’s pretty awesome, huh?” Danny grinned cheerfully, “I’m not as good at Frostbite, I’m pretty sure he built his whole city thing out of his ice powers, but--” He stopped suddenly, his eyes widening to the size of saucers, the ice dragon disappearing as he lost his concentration. Love looked up at him, wondering why he dropped off in the middle of his sentence.

“ _Frostbite!_ ” He suddenly shouted, and Love jumped back in surprise, the sudden movement from the large beast causing the ground to shake a bit. Danny didn’t notice as he had jumped into the air with an elated whoop, pumping his fist excitedly. “That’s  _it_! That’s what Clockwork meant!”

Love whined at him in confusion, and he looked back at her with shining green eyes, bright with joy. “Love, I know how we can find your kids!”

The Night Fury stared at him in disbelief, a flurry of emotions crossing her face before she roared just as excitedly and practically jumped into the air to meet him, her wings snapping out and almost hitting the ground as she took off. He backed up quickly, his eyes wide--he had never actually seen Love fly before, but even here in the Ghost Zone the powerful flaps of her wings sent wind rolling away in hurricanes. She was a magnificent, beautiful sight to behold, a dragon in flight and looking as if she belonged in the sky, despite the tattered wings that should have disabled her.

Suddenly he realized why she was called a Wind Walker. His heart beat ever more quickly in the adrenaline rush that came with just watching her, and he grinned as she hovered before him, waiting for him to lead her to her children.

“Come on, let’s go! This way!” And he was off like a bullet, darting through the green abyss of the Ghost Zone.

Love roared again and flew after him, riding the sky as if she owned it.

~~~

Love looked around the snowy land curiously--it reminded her greatly of the chilly lands which had been her home when she was alive. She didn’t live in the icebergs like the Blizzard Breathers, but she lived close enough to get used to the cold.

It helped that she could make her own fire.

She wondered how humans survived it, so tiny and frail and fur-less. Glancing at Danny, who wasn’t shivering at all, she wondered if his natural coldness as a demon, or perhaps his strange ice power, was the reason he didn’t seem affected by the weather.

They padded across the snow toward some holes in the mountains--caves, Love realized, but they looked rather small compared to her own. The beings who lived in them were much smaller, obviously, though Love idly wondered if Danny expected her to go into them--she wouldn’t be able to fit.

“Frostbite was one of my first allies that didn’t start out as an enemy--well sort of, I thought he was an enemy but he was just injured so I helped him out, and then that was over pretty quickly and we became friends.” Danny was explaining, “He and his people kind of treat me like a big hero or something because I defeated Pariah Dark. It’s kind of embarrassing, but I guess you wouldn’t really understand why, huh...”

 _“Not if you do not explain it, halfling.”_  Love snorted, though she knew Danny wouldn’t understand her. And he didn’t, because he simply glanced back at her briefly before he continued speaking.

“Anyway, once Vlad--I told you about Vlad right? Evil monster vampire dude who’s out to ruin my life, crazy fruitloop and all--he stole this thing called the Infi-map from Frostbite’s people--err, from me, because I sort of borrowed it on accident? Long story, but when I got it back for them, they said I could use it any time.” Danny paused, sensing Love’s questioning gaze on him, so he said, “The Infi-map is a map of the Ghost Zone that will take you anywhere, sort of--as long as there’s a natural portal. Seeing as natural portals form all over time--including the one that probably let your spirit form here the way it did--I’m betting we can find one that leads straight to your original era.”

Love perked up at this, and stopped at the sound of footsteps in the snow ahead of them. She growled a little in cautious warning--Danny may have already said they were his allies, but Love was wary of strange demons still. Their scent reminded her that she should be careful, even if her instincts no longer told her to run.

Danny blinked up at her, apparently not hearing the footsteps until they were closer, and he turned ahead with a bright grin to greet the furry white monsters coming to meet them. “Hey, Frostbite! How’s it going!” He called cheerfully, patting Love’s leg to get her to calm down--she settled, but she was still tense.

Love tilted her head at the sight of the beasts--they were unlike anything she had ever seen, with fur from head to toe and standing almost twice as tall as Danny. Their canine faces and icy horns intrigued her--she had never really seen faces like theirs, and the closest thing she could recall to such long mammalian faces were the things humans called “sheep”. But sheep didn’t have visible fangs like these things did.

“Great One!” The one in the blue cloak bellowed joyously, standing in front of two other “yetis” as Danny had called them, his arms spread wide in greeting. He swept Danny up into a hug while the other two bowed deeply, and Love stared at them. “It is good to see you again! You have been well, I hope!”

Danny grinned sheepishly, nodding. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he patted Frostbite’s ice-encased arm, and the frosty giant let him go, grinning a wide canine smile. “Frostbite, this is Love. She’s a friend of mine.” He introduced, motioning beside him. “Love, this is Frostbite, leader of the Far Frozen realm.”

Frostbite looked up at the large, almost menacing dragon, blinking at her tall, intimidating pose in awe. She shifted her gaze from his two guards to study him, green eyes narrowed calculatingly. “A dragon! Magnificent! Not like Princess Dora, I assume?” He asked, not afraid in the least.

“Nope, not like Dora,” Danny shook his head, “though she  _is_  staying with Dora. But she’s a real dragon--a Night Fury.”

“Amazing. Truly, amazing,” Frostbite laughed heartily, “It is a pleasure to meet you, Night Fury Love! It is always an honor to host the friends of the Great One!”

Love grunted in acknowledgement, glaring ever so slightly at Danny for using her human species name rather than her preferred one. He shrugged nervously, not sure what her message was, but she sighed and let it go, turning her attention back to the yeti creatures.

She wondered why she was smelling a certain reverence coming off of them. Aside from the apparent leader, the other two had bowed and ducked their heads respectfully, similar to how dragons would have greeted her when she called for them. And they were doing this upon greeting  _Danny_. Was Danny some sort of pack leader too?

A leader of a scattered pack--similar to Love’s own. Now that was an interesting thought, and Love pondered it as she looked between Danny and the yetis as Danny attempted to greet the other two too. They weren’t nearly as physical as their leader, nodding politely in greeting just as Danny did.

“Now, Great One, what brings you and your dragon friend here?” Frostbite asked curiously, “Did you want to have us take a look at your friend? She looks young... a recently formed ghost, I presume.”

 _“Young? I beg your pardon, I was the oldest known Wind Walker of my time!”_  Love growled indignantly. Danny put a hand on her leg, perhaps thinking she was angry about her death being brought up again, and she calmed.  _“Right, they can’t understand me, they don’t know any better...”_

“I didn’t come here to get her a checkup, though actually now that you mention it, it would probably be nice. She hasn’t developed many powers other than invisibility, so I’m a little concerned.” Danny murmured. Love stared at him, a little shocked that he had been worrying about that so silently.

“Oh, well we can certainly take a look at her,” Frostbite nodded in understanding, “but if that is not your business here, then what did you come here for?”

“Actually, I wanted to borrow the Infi-map. We’re... sort of looking for someone.” Danny admitted almost shyly, “I promise, we’ll bring it right back this time.”

“Oh! Of course, Great One! Of course!” Frostbite nodded enthusiastically, “Why don’t you follow me and we shall go get it, and my people can look over Night Fury Love?”

Danny looked up at Love. “You okay with that? I promise I won’t be long and that these guys won’t hurt you.”

Love grumbled begrudgingly, but she nodded in understanding. Danny grinned gratefully at her before he started following Frostbite, and the other two yetis motioned for Love to follow them to a big open area nearer to the caves. She sighed and complied, reluctantly trudging after them through the snow.

The yeti in a red cloak went into the cave and came back with a strange metal device in his claws, pointing it at her. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously, but the device didn’t seem to do anything except beep, and it didn’t touch her, so she remained still. The yeti moved it across her body as if it could scan her with eyes much more precise than the yeti’s own, and she watched the white pair warily the whole time.

The two yetis began talking to each other in a language Love couldn’t understand, so she ignored them and looked around. She could see a few other yetis wandering around, in and out of the caves, and some were clamoring excitedly--she heard some shouts of “Great One”, so they must have been talking about Danny.

Idly she wondered why he held a title like “Great One”. It probably had something to do with that “Pariah Dark” he mentioned earlier.

Soon Danny returned with Frostbite, holding a scroll in his hand and deep in conversation with the large ice-armed yeti. They stopped briefly to talk to the two yetis that had accompanied Love, and Love’s ears perked when they started speaking English again.

“So, what’s the diagnosis?” Danny asked jokingly, coming over and patting the side of Love’s neck affectionately, as if to calm her or reassure her that he was back now.

“She’s fine,” said one of the yetis--the one in the red cloak--and he showed Danny the metal device. “She’s developing normally for a ghost. She of course has flight like you do, even if she appears to use her wings--it’s a mimic of a familiar gesture for her, and it perhaps makes it easier for her to adjust to the power. She also has intangibility, but since that doesn’t work in the Ghost Zone, she has not been able to properly use it.”

“Oh,” Danny blinked, “that’s good to hear. I thought something was weird since I had all of those powers right away...”

“Your development as a half-ghost, Great One, is far faster than any normal ghost,” Frostbite informed him, “there are many factors in that, of course, but surely you’ve noticed the number of specialty powers you’ve developed is far greater than other ghosts you’ve ever encountered? You have far more powers than even age-old ghosts like Pandora and Princess Dorathea.”

Danny blinked at him. “I... never really thought about it like that?” He tilted his head, frowning. “I know I have an ice core, so the ice powers are expected I guess, but... well, I guess having electric powers, and the Ghostly Wail, and that mist thing... okay, I get your point. None of those powers make sense with an ice core. Is it because I’m half-human?”

“...Something like that.” Frostbite said almost hesitantly, then turned to Love. “Night Fury Love! How long have you been a ghost?”

Love blinked at him, shrugging. She scratched at the snow with one claw, as if to write something, but the lines were incomprehensible to the other ghosts.

“Uh--I found her a few months ago,” Danny finally answered after he gave up trying to puzzle out Love’s scribbles, “She’s not that old for a ghost.”

“Hmm. I think she shall develop her first specialty power soon, then. Six human months is usually when the first powers develop,” Frostbite grinned, “but whatever develops depends on what her obsession is.”

Love frowned, wondering about that. Dora and Danny had implied her obsession had to do with revenge after all... what kind of power would she develop from that?

“Do her plasma blasts count as a specialty power?” Danny tilted his head curiously.

“No,” said the red-cloaked yeti, “it is a power she had in life. It’s considered a natural ability--it’s emulated with ectoplasm, but it’s not a ghost ability.”

“Oh. Wonder what your specialty power will be then,” Danny looked up at his draconic companion, absently stroking her neck, “or what your core is... can you guys tell? Is it a fire core, like Dora? Or air? I think I saw her making tornadoes earlier.” He looked back at the furry white ghosts, thinking about all the core types he knew about--water, earth, lightning, magic, neutral...

The third yeti took the device from the red-cloaked one, moving it over Love’s body again. He murmured to himself a few moments, before he looked back up at his leader and his hero, who watched him expectantly. “Light.”

Danny’s eyebrows raised in surprise, and Frostbite hummed in approval. “A very versatile core--a great number of powers can manifest from that kind of core.” He mused.

“Light, huh,” Danny looked up at his friend in thought, “it goes well with your personality. I almost expected you to have a darkness core, but... this is better.”

Love tilted her head at him, not sure what exactly a “core” was or what it was supposed to do, but apparently it had something to do with how she would develop as a ghost.

“Light tends to lead,” Frostbite commented, “it certainly says a lot about you, Night Fury Love. I hope it serves you well--and that you serve it to the best of your ability, as well.”

“Well, she is a queen--no surprise there.” Danny chuckled.

“A queen? Well, why didn’t you say so sooner!” Frostbite bowed deeply to her, chuckling as he straightened up. “Great One, you should learn how to properly introduce your friends--rank matters, often times.”

Danny grinned sheepishly. “Ah, uh... sorry?”

Love stared at them, processing their words. After a long moment, she leaned over and nudged Frostbite, shivering at his touch when he returned the gesture with a soft pat. She pulled back, warbling softly at him.

“I think she’s thanking you for your respect,” Danny mused, “and maybe also for telling us stuff about how she’s developing?” He shrugged, grinning up at the black dragon. “Anyway, we should get going, I know she was looking forward to seeing her kids again. Thanks for the check up, and for letting us borrow the map.”

“Not a problem, Great One. Come back soon.” Frostbite nodded, and he and his people stepped back as Danny flew up to Love’s eye level.

“So normally we have to hang on tight to this thing--not sure how you’re going to do it since you don’t have hands, but Frostbite suggested I ride on you so neither of us get lost or stray from its path. Is that okay?” Danny asked carefully, reaching out and stroking her forehead between her eyes.

Love frowned, muttering about how it should be undignified, but if that was the only way...

She nodded, and Danny shifted and flew around her, settling between a pair of spine fines just between her neck and wings. For a moment she wondered if sitting there was uncomfortable, but Danny didn’t say anything about it, patting her neck reassuringly.

“Okay, I’m going to need you to think really hard about where you want to go, because I can activate the map but I don’t know what era you come from. It can read your mind, so I’ll let you direct it,” he explained. Love nodded, beginning to concentrate on her memories.

“Great One,” Frostbite called up with a cautious warning tone, and Danny looked down at him. “Remember that using the map only leads to natural portals--they may not be precise, and they may only land you as close to your destination as possible. And wherever you land, be wary, for if the entrance closes, you can only return if there is another natural portal.”

The half-ghost nodded, “I know. It could be days or weeks before another one forms, but I’ll chance it as long as I can find another one back to the correct time here.” He grinned at the yeti, “Don’t worry, I can take care of myself in the meantime. Summer camps with Sam and fishing trips with my parents weren’t for nothing, after all.”

“Good luck, Great One and Night Fury Love.”

Danny nodded, unrolling the scroll. Love turned her head to look, staring at the shifting dark green against the grid on the map.

“It’s going to be a fast ride, Love, so fold in your wings and don’t panic.” Danny warned, taking a deep breath. “Okay, Infi-map... take us to Love’s home!”

At those words, Love quickly concentrated on her memories again, thinking of her aerie, her nest, her nestlings... and then she heard Danny shout a sound of surprise and felt his hands grip her neck, one curled tightly on the map as it suddenly  _jerked_  and pulled them forward. Love yelped and turned her head forward to keep from hurting herself as they jetted through the Ghost Zone, her eyes wide and her body feeling weightless as the world blurred by around her. It was dizzying and overwhelming and she had never flown like this before--she had always flown with her own powers, her own body--not...  _this_.

 _Focus,_  she told herself determinedly, thinking about her children--because she was so, so close to seeing them again. A bright, swirling tear appeared in front of her, small at first and growing rapidly in size as the map pulled them closer to it, and instinctively she wanted to spread her wings to slow them down before they crashed.

She didn’t get the chance, though, because the map pulled them through the green vortex and then they were  _diving_.


	5. Curious

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, the chapter where things sort of pick up! How many things from canon can you recognize? o3o
> 
> Also, happy mother’s day!! I was originally not going to post this today, but then I realized today was the perfect day to treat you guys to another installment. This chapter is brought to you by mama Love, hehe. Enjoy!

The sudden shift from the cold, ethereal air of the Ghost Zone and the biting chill of the Real World sky wasn’t nearly as jarring to Danny as it was to Love. She roared in fright and surprise, finally spreading her wings as the map released them from its pull. Wind crashed against her tattered wings like a parachute gathering air, and she wobbled uneasily in the sky for a few moments before she managed to gather herself and flap her wings.

Danny slid off her back, rolling up the map and sticking it safely into his belt as he hovered easily beside her, watching her with an amused smile. “Right, this is technically your first time back in the Real World... gravity’s kind of weird after all the anti-physics in the Ghost Zone, huh?”

Love whined, finally steadying herself. She looked around, taking in the gray-blue sky and the clouds not too far above and the expansive blue sea below. It was familiar--it smelled of salt and mist and  _home_.

“You know you don’t actually need to flap to fly, right? We’re ghosts, we just kind of... defy gravity to fly.” Danny chuckled, “Well, whatever makes you most comfortable. So, where exactly are we--?”

He didn’t get an answer, except for Love crying out in joy and darting off in some seemingly arbitrary direction.

“Whoa--hey, Love, wait for me!” He shouted, his legs merging into a spectral tail as he rushed after her.

She glanced at him, looking surprised that he was able to keep up with her, but then she turned forward again, still flying toward her goal--a little rocky island in the distance, a mountain jutting high into the sky and flat plateaus scattered around various crevices.

Danny followed her gaze, looking pleasantly surprised. “That’s your home?”

She growled happily in response, the sound practically lost over the roar of the wind biting into his ears.

They landed soon enough, and Love was darting around the entire island excitedly, roaring out every so often. Danny thought it was some sort of call for her family or friends, but he frowned when it got progressively louder. He had been following slowly and looking around idly, but when he realized the land was eerily empty and Love was starting to panic as she realized it too, he flew to her hastily and stopped in front of her.

“Hey--calm down,” he said soothingly, reaching out a hand to pet her as her eyes darted around frantically, “don’t panic. Is it because this place is deserted?”

Love whimpered, nuzzling his hand and chest for comfort. He stroked her scales reassuringly, frowning as he looked around again.

“Yeah, the lack of life around here is kind of... unsettling. Maybe your family moved somewhere else? Or...” he shrugged, not sure what to do. “I mean, last time you were here you were attacked by humans, right? Everyone probably fled to a safer place. Do you know any other places nearby they could be? We could go check those out.”

Love whimpered, nodding and spreading her wings again. Before she could take off though, she started slipping into the ground, and she yelped in frightened surprise.

“Whoa there!” Danny would have laughed if he hadn’t panicked as much as she had, grabbing her with intangible arms around her neck and heaving her upward, struggling to keep her afloat until she regained tangibility. She whined in shock, flailing her paws a bit, only stopping when she could feel and hear her claws scratching at the dirt.

Danny slowly let her go, backing off a few paces as she stared at the ground incomprehensibly. “Yeah, that happens sometimes when you’re still getting used to the whole... ghost thing,” he grinned sheepishly at her, hoping to calm her down, “especially if your emotions are as acute as they are. Don’t worry, I can keep you from falling--intangible ghosts can touch other intangible ghosts, so I can help you if it happens again.”

She shifted her gaze back up to him, confused, her brow furrowed in concern. He smiled earnestly at her, but she remained still and frozen in place, staring at him. “Intangibility is one of those powers you don’t get to experience in the Zone, just keep calm and you should be able to get the hang of it.” Danny told her while petting her reassuringly, “At least you don’t have pants to lose. I honestly don’t know how my friends dealt with me when I was learning how to control it, since they can’t turn intangible like I can. You’re lucky I’m strong enough to throw a dragon, otherwise pulling you up would’ve been hard!” His face remained in its grin, and eventually her expression faded back to soft anxiety.

She hissed a soft thanks, carefully taking a breath she didn’t need and spreading her wings again. Danny kept a close eye on her as she took off, and then followed her when he was sure she wouldn’t fall through the ground again. They settled into a fast-paced glide alongside each other, and Danny idly noted that his dragon friend seemed to be getting a better grasp of her ghost flight now. Even if she wasn’t flying that fast, he could see shadowy particles following her trail similar to how his spectral tail followed his--it looked oddly misty and out of place in the sunlit day, and he began to see why humans had named her species “Night Fury”--she certainly fit in better with the night, her dark form an obvious speck in the sky.

They traveled in silence, and while Danny knew he should have been searching the seas the way Love was, he couldn’t help but let his gaze drift back to her worry-ridden visage more often than not.

“Don’t worry, Love. I’m sure we’ll find someone,” he said softly, and he caught her green gaze--sad and longing--as they flew the rest of the way quietly.

~~~

They checked two other islands before night fell and Danny started getting tired--he had never kept up his ghost form for more than a day before, and he was running out of energy fast.

“I won’t be able to keep up this form if I don’t stop and rest...” he sighed, sitting against a rock as Love checked a nearby cave for any sign of life. He could hear her roar echo against the walls of the cave, dug deep into the mountain. He took the time to relax while waiting for her, mumbling to himself, “I haven’t eaten all day either...”

Love came back, disappointment clear in the sag of her wings, and without a second thought he reached out to comfort her as soon as she was close enough. They hadn’t seen any other signs of life all day, and it was worrying--Danny had had to calm her down twice after two serious panic attacks already. “Hey, Love, I think we should set up camp for tonight and keep searching in the morning.”

Love frowned at him, murmuring something in a soft, concerned growl.

“I know you want to keep looking, and you probably can since you’re a full ghost, but I’m only half, Love. I’m human--I need to rest,” he told her gently, “I need to eat and sleep and... well, turn human for a while, but I’m a bit afraid of getting mauled by you if I do,” he admitted sheepishly.

Love’s eyes widened in alarm, and she nudged him as she fretted. Danny pushed his hand against her snout, shaking his head to her wordless concern. “Yeah, I’ll be fine, I just need to rest. I’m going to turn human now, okay? Don’t freak out.”

She whined a bit, but seemed understanding, so he let the rings of light envelop him. As soon as they disappeared, he shivered lightly. “Geez, I know my human form is usually immune to the weather but it’s so  _cold_  here!” He complained with a grin, rubbing his arms and pointedly ignoring the conflicted look on Love’s face, having expected it. “Maybe it’s just Amity Park’s weather I’m used to, since I’m there a lot and it was never this cold--heh, but then again, what would I know? I’ve never really gone further north.”

Love made a worried sound, apparently choosing a side in her internal conflict as Danny rambled, and gently tugged at his thin, still-singed clothes as if wondering if he was warm enough. He laughed, shaking his head. “I can handle a little cold. I need to find something to eat, though...” He got up, stretching himself and cracking his neck--Love cringed at that, but she didn’t move closer than she did before, watching him almost warily. “Look, you can be all nocturnal and look around if you want, just come back here and get me in the morning.” He shooed her off gently, heading to the nearest watering hole to see if he could find some fish.

Love stared at him, and after a moment, her dark form--visible only by her ghostly glow--turned and vanished down the shore. Danny sighed, grabbing a random stick and looking into the water. He had never gone spear fishing before, only regular pole fishing with his dad, but it couldn’t be that hard right?

“Wonder if fish here are diurnal,” he muttered, stabbing the water with the stick experimentally.

He was only at it for half an hour, until the light completely died in the sky, when he heard the flap of wings. He blinked, turning around. “Love?”

Love landed nearby the cave on the flat plateau, sitting down on her hind haunches and looking at him expectantly. He came over as she lowered her head, her throat moving more than normal as she opened her mouth and--

“Eww, gross!” Danny made a face as she  _regurgitated_  three whole fish in a pile in front of him, stepping back. She frowned at him, pushing one of the fish closer to him with that still expectant look. He paused, staring at her. “Did--did you just catch those? For me?” He asked out loud, looking in bewilderment between the Night Fury and the dead fish, “I mean, that’s nice and all, but you didn’t have to, and... I mean, you can keep them? I can catch my own, and...”

Love growled at him, nudging the fish closer again. He flinched, stopping his rambling and meeting her stern peridot gaze--it reminded him of his mother when he tried to get out of dinner after finding out she was the one cooking.

“Oh,” he breathed quietly, “you were worried about me... thanks,” he said softly, stepping closer and reaching out with his bare hand to touch her cool, silk-like skin. “And I just realized ghosts don’t need to eat Real World food, so you had no reason to get it for yourself, huh?”

Love purred, nuzzling him. He laughed, scratching her under the chin.

“I hope you know humans don’t eat raw fish, though. Let’s start a fire and cook these, yeah?” He stepped back, gathering some twigs and rocks to make a fire pit. He made idle conversation as he moved, Love watching him in curiosity, confusion, and concern, probably because he hadn’t eaten yet. “That was some pretty quick hunting though... ah, that’s right, your species mainly eats fish, right?”

Love hissed affirmatively, nudging the fish toward him again. He waved one hand dismissively, using the other to arrange the rocks he picked up into a circle around the pile of twigs. “I’ll eat, I’ll eat! Just give me a few minutes to cook... wait, you have no idea what cooking is, do you?” Danny shook his head, satisfied with his fire pit, then lighting it with a small ray shot from his finger. Love startled at the casual display of powers, then looked at the fire he started in awe. “Yeah, normally humans make fire a different way, but I’m lazy and I have powers so why not use them, you know?”

He grabbed his makeshift spear-stick from before, then one of the fishes, skewering it and sticking it into the fire, letting it lay on the burning woodpile. “This isn’t the best way to camp, but I’ll make do. Thanks for the fish, by the way.” He grinned up at Love as he sat down next to the fire, warming his hands by it and turning the fish over periodically.

Love crawled closer, nuzzling him, nudging the other two fish at him too. He sighed and took them, inspecting them as he held them up. He made a face at the slimy feeling that coated his fingers. “Um... eww, dragon slobber? Or is that ghost dragon slobber? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised since it was... in your stomach or something.” He muttered, wiping off his hand on his shirt after he put the two fish down next to the fire pit. “I’ll just... not eat the skin...”

He kept talking idly, wondering why Love hadn’t left to keep searching for her family. Dora had said that Love thought of them as children, but he didn’t think it extended to treating them like children, like they were in constant need of supervision and care. He didn’t know whether to be insulted or not, really.

But then again, Love was probably doing all of this out of worry for him, so he couldn’t not be grateful. He looked up when she shifted and lay down next to him, curling her long tail around their small campsite.

“You don’t have to stay, you know. I’ll be fine. You can keep looking for your family--I’ll still be here when you get back.”

Love purred quietly, leaning her head in close and sniffing at him. He blinked at her, then grinned and reached up, rubbing her scales affectionately. “Trying to get yourself used to my human self too, huh? Thanks, I think. Also thanks for not mauling me.”

Love snorted, rolling her eyes and laying her head down next to him, and he continued petting her on her snout and forehead until he smelled the fish burning. “Ah!” He pulled the stick out of the fire, blowing out the flames on it, looking at the slightly blackened food. “...Well, I’m not eating the skin anyway, but at least I know it’s well-done?”

Love seemed fascinated to watch him eat--he was a little disturbed by the staring, but then he realized Love had never been around humans enough to really see how... well,  _human_  they were. It probably never even occurred to her that humans needed to eat just like dragons did.

After finishing one fish, he stretched and yawned. “Well, I think that’s good enough for tonight... I’m gonna turn in and get some sleep, I think.” He murmured, rubbing his eye tiredly.

Love made a rumbling sound in concern, nudging him toward the other two fish. He grimaced and shook his head. “I’ll have it for breakfast tomorrow, Love. I don’t need to eat  _that_  much, these fish were already pretty big.” He told her reassuringly, leaning back against her leg. She allowed this, shifting slightly to lay her foreleg across him and keep him warm.

“You gonna be my blanket tonight? Heh, thanks.” He snuggled against her as comfortably as he could, given he was stuck between a heavy dragon’s paw and the cold, hard ground. Ah well, at least her muscles were softer than the ground, and he didn’t mind sleeping in an upright sitting position, used to it from falling asleep at school so often.

Love hummed softly, and he looked up at her. He paused, catching sight of the stars beyond her head. “...Huh. Those constellations...”

The sky was the clearest he had ever seen it, away from the light pollution of the city. He wondered how far back in time they were--Dora had said that Love was probably from two thousand years in the past, and from the map of stars above him, he could tell that his own era was a distant future to this world.

“We’re definitely up north somewhere, I can tell that much,” he commented sleepily.

The constellations looked slightly different, but he could still count them as well as he always could. He murmured the names and stories to Love, who listened with perked ears, until he started yawning and trailing off. The flickering fire crackled quietly in the distant corners of his hearing, and he smiled up at his favorite things as he drifted off to slumber.

~~~

Danny was awakened by loud roaring, and he sat up with a jolt, blinking his eyes until the bleariness went away. He looked around, fully alert--Love wasn’t curled around him anymore, the sun was bright despite the cloudy gray sky, the fire pit was nothing but black ashes, and the lack of smoke rising from it told him that it had been several hours since the unattended flame had gone out.

He groaned and stood up, stretching his sore muscles with audible cracks. “Love?” He called hoarsely, rubbing his eyes clear of the sleep sand. He looked around again, hearing another roar, and for a minute he was worried she was panicking like the day before. Then he spotted her on the near distant shore, pacing impatiently and not paying him any mind--she didn’t look like she was panicking, so Danny relaxed and let his shoulders slump.

He could have sworn he saw a blue glow, but when he looked again it was gone, so he wondered if he was only seeing things in his half-asleep daze. He watched her for a minute, trying to fully wake up, before he sighed and stumbled over to the watering hole, kneeling to splash some water on his face. His throat still felt parched, so he carefully scooped a handful of the water up and sipped it experimentally--it wasn’t unclean, at least, and Sam’s turfwiches were far worse, so he could deal with it.

Done with quenching his thirst, he went back to the fire pit, gathering a few fallen branches along the way. He sat down facing the shore as he idly worked on restarting the fire to cook himself some breakfast, watching as Love roared out again.

“What is she doing?” He wondered with a frown, squinting at the shadowy black dragon. The sunlight was getting brighter, and he could see her scales flash dark blue as she stalked across the beach--she had a lot more room to move here than she did at Dora’s domain, so he couldn’t really blame her for wanting to stretch out a bit. He thought he saw spots shining on her body, and suddenly he couldn’t get a certain feline imagery out of his mind--with Love’s graceful aura, catlike poise, and deep black skin, she reminded him very much of a panther.

He was startled out of his thoughts by another roar, and Love stopped pacing, her tail flicking in frustration. After a moment of staring out at the sea expectantly, she huffed and turned, ambling back to Danny’s campsite. She paused when she saw him awake, and he grinned and waved at her.

“Good morning,” he greeted her, turning back to the fire and skewering the two fish from the previous night, holding them out to cook them.

Love murmured something that was probably a greeting in response and padded over to him, sitting down nearby. Her tail still flicked in frustration--and possibly annoyance, if Danny was reading her expression correctly--but otherwise she remained still and relatively calm.

“What was with all the yelling?” Danny asked her in concern, looking up from his still-uncooked meal. “Something wrong?”

Love growled a little, glaring at the sky, but a flicker of worry crossed her eyes.

Danny frowned and tried to guess what she was saying. “...Were you trying to call for your pack?” He ventured, and she nodded solemnly in response. “Okay, and I’m guessing from your... everything, that they’re not responding.”

Love huffed, her head frills folding in and out anxiously. Danny looked back at his breakfast, turning the fish over as he hummed thoughtfully.

“We already searched three islands yesterday... and you probably know a few more where they could be, huh? But they must all be in relatively close proximity if they were part of your... territory, or whatever... and since you were a dragon queen, that means everyone in your territory had to be near enough for you to rule them or something...” Danny muttered to himself, trying to figure out Love’s growing concern--and Love grunted in affirmation, which meant that his guesses were pretty much spot on. “So if no one’s responding, that means... no one’s here?”

Love made a whimpering whine, nodding. Worry was written all over her face now--it was obvious now that it wasn’t just her children that had gone missing, but her entire pack. Danny leaned over and reached out a hand, patting her leg comfortingly.

“We’ll find them, don’t worry,” he murmured, and Love sighed as she settled down, looking around anxiously as Danny quickly finished his breakfast and changed form, ready to go.

“Okay,” Danny flew up to her head so he was eye-level with her, “so if no one in your territory is responding, that means it’d be a waste of energy to check the other islands. Do you know any other places they could have gone? Outside of your territory?”

Love mumbled to herself, deep in thought. When it seemed like she couldn’t think of anything for several minutes, Danny piped up hesitantly. “How about... any human settlements or something...? Since, you know, right before you died, there were humans...”

The dragon’s eyes widened, constricting to rage-filled slits, and the growl that escaped her lips made Danny flinch back. He quickly composed himself, however, holding out his hands to placate her. “Hey, hey--calm down. No raging on humans, okay?” He said hastily, “We don’t know what really happened. I’m just saying, we should check it out. That’s it.”

Love hissed at him, narrowing her eyes, and he flinched again, but remained firm. “Love. Calm. Down.”

She frowned, still glaring, but she listened, staring intensely into his own green eyes until the slits of hers relaxed, and she pouted grumpily.

“Good. Okay, so which way are the human settlements? Remember, we’re only going to  _look_ , so no attacking, alright?” Danny patted her forehead between the eyes, “You gotta keep in control, or you’ll lose hold of your powers again. And we really don’t need any slip ups right now, okay? Clockwork said the people in this time were superstitious, and the last time I accidentally went time-hopping, superstitions kind of screwed me over. It’s trouble we don’t need, so we  _have_  to keep a low profile, Love.”

Love grumbled in understanding, making sure to keep calm as she spread her wings, launching upward with a powerful flap. Danny sighed and followed her, making sure to keep a lookout for any signs of life.

~~~

It was midday when they came across a big, inactive volcano. Danny frowned down at it, eyeing all the crashed wooden ships lodged in the menacing-looking, jagged rocks that surrounded the island. Just in front of a  _huge_  cave carved into the mountainside were the equally huge remains of  _something_. Love and Danny exchanged a glance, circling the island warily.

Large rib cage bones stood on the beach at the foot of the volcano, charred black and crumbling from its own weight. The rest of the remains seemed to be buried in the sea where more bones were poking out half-way, but what stood on the land formed a cagey tunnel into the cave beyond, like a grim, twisted entrance. Danny could see the blackened bones of a spine and tail half-buried in the sand.

“Well that’s... um, disturbing?” He muttered, staring down at the apparent graveyard with a face of disgust. “Whatever that thing was, it was huge...”

He had known that dragons were huge, and this was proof that they  _existed_ , but the reality of it didn’t hit him until just now. Dragons had existed... and they had  _died_. They had gone extinct, so long ago that his time only thought of them as  _myths_.

It was a dark reality, and Danny felt the sorrow Love must have felt when she first realized it too.

Love made a choked sound of horror, staring with wide eyes at the meatless corpse. Danny glanced at her in confusion, following her gaze to a large skull poking out of the water. He didn’t notice it at first, thinking it was just another spiky rock formation, but when he really looked, he found himself reflecting Love’s horror in a shiver.

He counted the holes in the skull where the eyes would have been. There were six.

“The Six-Eyed Lava Dweller,” he breathed in realization, “This... this was a Red Death?”

He remembered the entry in the dragon manual--about how they were huge and monstrous and cannibalistic, and generally terrible and frightening. They were an alpha species--and he honestly doubted one as big as this would have just keeled over and died. Not in the position this skeleton was in--and with those black marks, it looked like it had been burned to death.

But dragons were fireproof, weren’t they? How was that even possible, then? He really dreaded to think about the creature that could do that to something as big and terrifying as a Red Death.

Love whimpered, flying closer to him and nudging him frantically so they could move on. He frowned and nodded, complying to her request--this place gave him the creeps, too.

He looked over his shoulder as they flew away, realizing something else--with the way the skeleton was buried in the sand, the lack of rotting meat, and once again no sign of life disturbing the desolate island, it was obvious that that corpse had been there for  _ages_. Just how long had that thing been dead? How much time had passed since Love was alive?

He looked forward again, biting his lip as he stared ahead at his draconic companion.

_We may be... a little further away from your present than we planned..._

He really hoped that when they found her children, they wouldn’t be skeletal corpses too.

~~~

After stopping by what looked like an empty nesting ground--Danny could tell because there were tiny pieces of eggshells scattered about, so worn by time they were nearly powdered dust now--they finally came to a large island that looked like it once held a great civilization. Two worn-down pillars with flattened, carved faces greeted them, and Danny could distantly make out the ruins of stone buildings and some other miscellaneous structures. The seemingly abandoned village was built at the foot of and into the side of a cliff, and he could spot some odd rocky arches in the distance and scattered around the island.

“Hey, Love,” Danny called, “I know it looks empty but maybe we should turn invisible just in c--”

Love didn’t pay him any heed, inhaling deeply and letting out a desperate roar.

Danny winced but didn’t cover his ears, looking around frantically in hopes that there really weren’t any other people around. Love’s eyes flickered suspiciously, also wondering where all the people were--this was a human settlement, wasn’t it? Where were all the humans?

The lack of life anywhere was really starting to frighten her--what kind of world was this, where she hadn’t seen head nor tail of any other humans or dragons? The silence was eerie and unsettling, she thought, as she waited for the echoes of her call to die down.

Danny looked down at the desolate ruins, wondering what happened to the village and the people who used to live there. He could see the remains of tall arches like giant bird perches, some buildings that looked tall and sturdy and important, and a broken building sticking into the cliff that seemed to lead unto an underground living space, but he couldn’t tell if people were living there.

Just as he was about to shout to Love so they could land and take a closer look on the ground, and maybe make camp because it was nearing evening, Love called out again, her roar echoing over the lonely island.

Danny sighed, flying up to her and putting his hand on her neck. “Hey... I don’t think anyone’s here. Maybe we should...”

He was cut off by another roar, and he froze. His eyes widened, staring at the glowing green eyes next to him, which looked just as bewildered as his were... because that roar hadn’t been  _Love’s_.

Before he could say anything, Love was off like a shot, roaring desperately in response as she tried to follow the source of the call.

“Love!” He gasped, dashing off to follow her, his eyes still wide as the foreign roar responded again, closer now as the ghostly pair crossed over the village completely, heading toward the forest.

Love ignored him, energy racing through her as if her heart was beating wildly, focused solely on the call of the other dragon.

~~~

Love was startled when she landed clumsily in a spacious cove. She looked around, her eyes narrowed calculatingly--nothing seemed too out of place, but the cove certainly looked... lived in. There was a pond with a stream flowing into it from a small waterfall, a half-burnt but ancient-looking tree, and scratches in the walls of the cove as if some animal had tried to climb up with claws not meant for climbing...

The scent of a living being reached her nose, and she stilled. She zeroed in on the source of the scent--a shadowed cave purposefully dug into one wall of the cove, adjacent to the waterfall.

“Love! Geez, you’re fast...” Her halfling called behind her, and she stiffened at his voice, turning her head to glare at him. He flinched, lowering his voice. He asked in a hissed whisper, cautious and slow, “What? What’d you find?”

 _“Demons?”_  A wary voice hissed quietly from within the cave, and Danny snapped to attention, staring at the cave just as Love turned her gaze back to it.

“Is that... a dragon...?”

 _“You’re the one who answered my call.”_  Love replied softly, trying not to be threatening or intimidating at all.  _“Please, we may be demons, but...”_

_“...Mom?”_

Love blinked, her eyes going wide. She felt Danny’s gaze on her, but she remained still, watching the entrance of the cave as two peridot green eyes shifted in the shadows, becoming brighter as their owner came into the light.

Danny gasped as he saw another Wind Walker pad slowly into the open, its ears swiveling toward them curiously. It wasn’t as big as Love--it looked only about half of her size--but the green eyes were unmistakably the same as the dragon queen’s.

Love stared at it in shock, studying it as it studied her. Its stance, though coiled in an instinct to run or fly away, was oddly unguarded, and its eyes reflected no hostility or fear. The only thing she could see was an ancientness that matched her own, despite the other’s young age, and relieved  _recognition_.

 _“Mom,”_  the dragon warbled softly, forcing itself to relax, even as it shifted its gaze to Danny. The recognition in its eyes didn’t leave as it took in the frozen ghost boy’s otherworldly form--it didn’t seem scared of him at all, like Love thought it might be, but its expression morphed into a vaguely curious look.

That look was all Love needed to find her words, swallowing her heart when it felt like it had jumped up into her throat. She took a few tentative steps closer, anticipation twisting her stomach. She knew this dragon--how could she not? After all, this was her  _son_.

_“Curious?”_

The younger Wind Walker glanced back at her, amusement dancing in his eyes now.  _“You haven’t called me that since I was a pup.”_  His lips pulled back in a gummy smile, which surprised Love--she had picked up the gesture from Danny and Dora, but she hadn’t expected her long-lost offspring to know it somehow too.

Beside her, Danny gave an amused chuckle. “So, uh, I’m guessing this is one of your kids. I can see the resemblance.” He ventured, a little nervous about interrupting the apparent reunion.

Love glanced at him and nodded. When she looked back at Curious, he was looking between the ghostly pair, a puzzled look on his face. He didn’t even flinch as Love came up to him, sniffing at him to confirm he was real, and that he was there. He just turned his emerald green gaze to her, looking confused.

 _“Mom? I know it’s been a long time, but... you’re acting like you’ve never seen me before.”_  He purred and nuzzled her gently, and she nuzzled him back longingly.

 _“My hatchling... my little runt... my Curious... you’ve grown so big,”_  Love murmured, tears coming to her eyes as she closed them, tucking her head against his back.  _“I’m so glad... I’m so happy you’ve grown this big. I never thought I’d ever get to see you like this...”_

Curious made a sound of surprise, pulling back from her.  _“Oh.”_  He stared at her in shock,  _“Oh... you_ haven’t _seen me before.”_

Love backed up a pace, frowning at him.  _“What are you talking about, Curious?”_

 _“Mom, I’m_ old _now... no one has called me Curious since I was a hatchling. I am not that curious anymore.”_  The smaller dragon gave her a sharp, calculating look.  _“When was the last time you saw me?”_

The Wind Walker queen hesitated, but she answered slowly,  _“...When I was alive.”_

He stared at her, then laughed sadly and shook his head.  _“No wonder... I see. I wonder if we’ll ever meet again, like this...”_  He warbled with a melancholy tone,  _“This is the youngest you’ve ever been... and the oldest I’ll ever be, most likely.”_

 _“What are you talking about?”_  Love frowned again, nudging him for comfort, for answers so she wouldn’t be confused anymore.

 _“This won’t be the last time young Danny brings you to meet me,”_  Curious glanced at their third companion, watching them silently with a look of growing concern when he saw their expressions. Love made a surprised sound, staring at her son with wide eyes. Curious turned his amused gaze back toward her, his face frills flaring.  _“Yes... how else would I have known not to run from these two particular demons.”_

Love stared at him, mouth open in shock.  _“...We’ve met before. You’ve met Danny before. I didn’t tell you his name, yet...”_

 _“Yes,”_  Curious nodded in affirmation to her incomplete question,  _“The way the young halfling explained it, your travels are going to be complicated things... but I have met you already, even if you have not met me yet, Mom.”_

 _“I’ll... I’ll see you again?”_  Love asked hopefully, shifting to curl around him with her wing outstretched to cover both of them. Curious allowed this, snuggling into her side.  _“What of... what of your clutch mate? Where is she?”_

 _“I cannot say--it has been... a long time, since we parted ways.”_  Curious replied with an aged and lonely tone,  _“It has been a long time since I’ve seen anyone else.”_

Love stared at him, then looked over to Danny, who had floated away to the other side of the cove to give them space once he saw Love getting comfortable.  _“We noticed that.... You are the first dragon we’ve seen in the few days we’ve been here.”_

 _“...This is the future, Mom. The dragons... they’ve all disappeared. And I... I’m the only one left.”_  Curious sighed, continuing sagely,  _“And even if I have many more centuries before I’ll be as old as you are... I think I shall be joining them soon too.”_

Love made an alarmed whine, nudging him worriedly.  _“What?! But you are still so young!”_

He smiled a draconic smile and shook his head.  _“It’s alright... it’s lonely, here. I don’t mind... and besides, there’s someone I want to meet, in the place where souls lie.”_  He murmured wistfully, laying his head down--and suddenly Love could see his age, and how tired he was, and how much his bones creaked. He was young, but he was  _old_ \--his eyes said it all.  _“It is not the place where you and Danny go... but maybe someday, I’ll meet you there too.”_

_“Curious...”_

He chortled, and it was an odd sound coming from his snout--an almost human one, reminding Love of the times Danny had made that sound. He lifted his gaze, watching as Danny floated on his back and looked up at the sky, which was slowly being dotted with stars. He was murmuring to himself, memorizing the constellations.

 _“It’ll be fine, Mom. Even I have to die, someday. Don’t worry about me--I’m fine. I’ll be fine.”_  He murmured softly,  _“Besides... I lost my wings so very long ago. It would be nice, to be able to fly again when I move onto the next plane.”_

Love blinked at him, shifting her wing to look under it, to examine his. He still had his wings, clearly... maybe he didn’t mean physically, though. Something about his tone was broken and sad, but there was something happy in it, as if he were reliving a good memory of a long-lost life.

He glanced over at her, his wizened eyes boring into hers. After a long moment of staring, he said,  _“Your human probably needs feeding. The pond has fish, if you want to get some for him.”_

Love gaped at his non-sequitur, then sputtered.  _“‘My human’?”_  She repeated incredulously.

 _“Danny is half-human, isn’t he? If I remember correctly, he still needs to eat and sleep.”_  Curious commented mirthfully, laughing as he sat up.  _“He’s so little and scrawny... not that he isn’t always, but he seems more so now. Then again, this is the youngest version I’ve met of him, so...”_

Love huffed, rolling her eyes.  _“Why did you call him_ mine _, though?”_

 _“Because that is what_ you _called him,”_  Curious replied without missing a beat,  _“just as you call me_ your _Curious.”_

Love opened her mouth, staring at him, but found that she couldn’t deny what he was saying--she had already called Danny “hers” after all, whether she realized it or not.

Apparently, she had more openly admitted this to a younger version of Curious.

Curious smirked at her, shaking his head.  _“Get Danny some food and rest here for the night.”_

_“And you?”_

_“I already ate.”_

Love sighed and got to her feet, ambling over to the pond. Danny turned to look at her curiously, commenting something in a language Curious couldn’t understand, but he watched the pair fondly as Danny laughed.

Love dipped her head toward the pond, and Danny, sensing her intent, made a disgusted face that reminded Curious very much of a certain human he knew in the past.

Danny flew off to the forest to get some firewood, coming back and looking around for a place to set up camp. Curious grinned and got up, padding over to the flat area of hardened earth Danny had settled on.

He shot a stream of white-hot fire at the wood pile as soon as Danny set it down, grinning mischievously as the half-ghost boy jumped in fright.

“Oh, uh,” Danny looked at the burning woodpile, his eyes wide, “thanks?”

Curious warbled a sound like a laugh, giving him a gummy smile. Danny smiled back, floating over and reaching his hand out carefully.

Curious tilted his head, sniffing at his hand--sadness crossed his eyes at the distantly familiar gesture, but he closed his eyes and pressed his snout against Danny’s cold gloved palm, purring softly.

“...Nice to meet you too,” Danny whispered, rubbing his scales gently, “I’m glad Love was able to find you.”

Curious didn’t understand his words, but the emotions he could feel coming off Danny were enough to get the message across.

 _“Loyal Danny... Thank you for staying with Mom,”_  he replied in a quiet whisper.  _“She’ll need you, for the times to come... she is still bitter and hurting, but I know you can heal her, and lead her to the light.”_

Danny didn’t hear him, but he smiled anyway when glowing green met pale emerald.

~~~

“Love! Wake up!” Danny called, floating in mid-air as he sat cross-legged in front of the pair of dragons sleeping in a pile in front of the cave. He pulled the Infi-map from his belt, waving it at her. “Hey, there’s a portal open nearby--we should head out and get to it before it closes!”

Love grumbled, getting up and stretching--she hadn’t actually been asleep, since her ghostly body didn’t really require her to, but she had been content to listen to Curious’ heartbeat all night, letting the sound soothe her into a dreamlike state. She looked up at Danny irritably.

 _“I’m guessing he wants to go home. You should probably go,”_  Curious muttered, opening one eye to look at her as he yawned. Love shifted so her wing wasn’t curled around them anymore, and he got up too, stretching like a cat and shaking out his wings.

 _“We can’t stay?”_  Love frowned,  _“I..._ I _can’t stay?”_

 _“You meet me in other times. Of course you don’t stay.”_  Curious pointed out nonchalantly, giving her a deadpan look.

_“But... I still need to find...”_

_“The dragons are gone, Mom. You won’t be able to find her here, even if you searched forever. Maybe in a different time, but not here.”_  The smaller male dragon shook his head grimly.

Love warbled miserably.  _“You can’t tell me if I do eventually find her?”_

Curious leaned in and nuzzled her affectionately.  _“I can’t say more--these things are still in your future,”_  he whispered,  _“and if this is the last time I’ll meet you, then I just want to say... I hope that you’re still as proud of me as you’ll be at the last time you’ll meet me... and that you can find peace, in the end, as I hope to.”_

Love stared at him, unsure what to say to his cryptic words, but she nuzzled him back, longing and sad.

 _“And as a word of warning... I may have met you, but you should not seek me out. Please watch over me, but... there are things I won’t need you for, if you were there at all.”_  Curious looked at her with those aged, serious eyes,  _“You... you were dead. I had believed so for a long time, and even now, I know it. The me in the past... he knows it even more; for the dead were never meant to come back, after all. Just... be careful.”_

Love nodded at the warning, slowly spreading her wings.  _“Goodbye, my Curious pup.”_

 _“Goodbye, Mom,”_  Curious gave her one last longing look, before he turned his head to look at Danny, nodding.

Danny smiled warmly, taking that as a signal, and he waved. “Bye! It was nice meeting you!” He called, motioning to Love as he lifted higher into the air. Love gave a powerful flap and joined him in the sky. After a final look over her shoulder, she turned forward, beginning the flight in the direction Danny motioned.

The ghost boy looked over his shoulder to see Curious still looking up at him, but then he turned away and headed back to his cave. Danny blinked when he saw the dragon’s tail as it whipped behind him. It was only a glimpse before the other Night Fury slithered back into the darkness, but he could have sworn half the tail was missing.

Hadn’t he seen something like that before?

He couldn’t remember where, but he put it out of his mind as he turned forward, looking down at the map in his hands. Love looked at him expectantly, and he flew up beside her, slowly lowering himself onto her back. She grunted, but didn’t stop him, knowing what was coming next.

“Okay, Infi-map... take us back to the Far Frozen.”

It was time to go home.


	6. The Sun Festival

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think my excitement might have died down because I had some terrible block and this chapter is mostly a filler chapter? Sorry! I’ll try to get the plot moving again next chapter, I think I’ll get excited again after that. Also, it might be late for Phanniemay’s Crossover theme, but happy Phanniemay!

“Here you go, Frostbite. See, told you I’d bring it right back.” Danny grinned, handing the map over to the yeti ghost. “How long were we gone?”

“Only a few hours,” Frostbite chuckled, “Clockwork must be on your side, Great One.”

Danny smiled knowingly, nodding. “You have no idea.” He chuckled to himself, silently thanking the Time Master for doing whatever he did to make sure Danny got back to the right timeline. It would have been disastrous if the portal landed him a few days after his starting point--or worse, several years after. Still, a few days passing for him ending up as only a few hours in the Ghost Zone? He’d count that as a blessing and not take it for granted.

Love shuffled behind him, and he glanced up at her before looking back at Frostbite. “Well, thanks for that, Frostbite. I’ve got to take Love back to Dora’s now, so see you later!”

“Take care Great One! And Night Fury Love as well!” Frostbite waved, grinning his canine grin as the two ghosts lifted into the air and flew off.

The fly back to Dora’s kingdom was quiet, and Love exuded an aura of contentment, if not a little longing. She must have missed that other Night Fury already.

“Hey, at least you got to see your kid, huh?” Danny smiled at her, “At least they survived... uh, whatever happened to you that night, so that’s good, right?”

Love’s eye found his, and she nodded and warbled softly. Danny sighed, wishing he could understand her--he’d have to ask Dora to help him have a conversation with the ghost dragon later.

“Hey, let’s go land in the courtyard and see if Dora’s still busy,” Danny called to his companion, and she lit up and grinned her draconic grin, nodding again. Apparently she was looking forward to having someone to talk to about their little adventure. He could see it in the twinkle in her eye, and he laughed at how excited she looked at the prospect.

They landed in the castle courtyard, where servants and townspeople were bustling about. Danny blinked, looking around as he tried to spot the princess.

Love, however, got a little annoyed with all the commotion, and roared softly to get some attention. Several ghosts paused to look at her, most of them expressing uneasiness and wariness.

“Uh, hi,” Danny waved, “is Princess Dora busy?”

One of the knights nearby approached them and nodded. “We are preparing for the Sun Festival! The princess is in the midst of organizing the tournament. Is the matter urgent, Sir Phantom?”

“Oh--I remember that from last year! Is it that time of year already?” Danny tilted his head curiously, and Love blinked in confusion, glancing from the knight to Danny. “Sorry, I forgot about that. Uh--well, I think Love wanted to talk to her, but if she’s busy...”

The knight nodded. “I will let her know you wanted to speak with her at her earliest convenience then.” He turned to go, then paused, turning back to the half-ghost boy. “Also, I believe Princess Dora wanted you to participate in the tournament this year. You could use the training grounds, if you wanted to practice while waiting for her.”

“Oh, uh--thanks?” Danny replied uncertainly, but the knight apparently didn’t notice his hesitance, because he nodded and left. The white-haired teenager sighed, turning back to Love. “Well, I guess we’ll have to wait.”

Love tilted her head at him and purred something, and he shrugged in answer to what was probably a question about why. “Want to go to the training grounds?” He asked, “Might as well do something while waiting for Dora.”

The Night Fury hummed curiously, and Danny took that as an affirmative answer and led the way, walking across the courtyard and around the corner to find the knights’ training grounds.

“Oh, you were probably asking about the Sun Festival, huh,” Danny realized, looking up at his companion, who snorted and nodded as if that was supposed to be obvious. “Well, after the defeat of Aragon, Dora made the sun come out in this domain for the first time in like sixteen hundred years. So to celebrate the end of Aragon’s reign and the beginning of hers, they throw a festival every year,” he explained idly. “This is only the second year, though, so I can see why it’s hectic--they’re not really used to organizing stuff like this.”

Love chirruped in curious amazement, seeming surprised and confused by the concept of a festival. Danny tried his best to explain it to her, but apparently dragons didn’t have holidays or anything of the sort, so the topic was completely foreign to Love. Still, she seemed interested in it, so he kept rambling until they reached the training grounds.

“So this is where the knights train--I’m not really a knight but Dora knighted me last festival for basically helping her free her kingdom,” Danny explained, “I did some sword training last time when they hosted something like a squire camp, but I don’t think swords are really my thing. Still, that knight said Dora wanted me to join the knights’ tournament, I guess, so...”

Love hunkered down near the edge of the training grounds, frowning as Danny went into the nearby armory. She had no idea what the armory was, but when he emerged with a long, shining silver sword, she narrowed her eyes and hissed at him, making him pause in alarm.

“Whoa, uh--hey, calm down, I’m not going to hurt anybody with it,” Danny carefully kept the tip of the sword on the ground, holding out one hand to placate her. “The tournament is mostly for show! To entertain the audience!”

Love’s expression didn’t change, and Danny took a step back from her glower, holding out his hand and dropping the sword beside him. The Night Fury relaxed a bit at this, but she still glared in the direction of the discarded weapon.

“Geez, Love, I can’t do anything around you huh...” Danny ran his hand through his hair, “Traumatic experiences much? I know you had some bad experiences with swords but I hope you know it’s the people who use them that make them good or bad...”

Love gave him a deadpan look, her lips pulled tight as if she was holding back a retort. Danny shook his head and crossed his arms, opening his mouth to say something when a girlish giggle interrupted him.

“An inexperienced knight is just as bad as an experienced rogue if they do not know how to handle a sword correctly,” Dora grinned as she came walking up, her hands folded daintily in front of her, “for they can hurt others and themselves on accident as much as a rogue would do it on purpose.”

Love snorted and nodded in agreement. Danny blushed, grinning sheepishly at her. “Uh, I guess you’re right,” he shook his head, shrugging helplessly, “I’ll need more training. Anyway, hi Princess Dora.”

“Good day, Sir Phantom, Love,” Dora nodded to her two friends, stopping between them, “I saw you earlier, Sir Phantom, but as you can see, I’ve been busy... I apologize for not having time to come greet you properly. What are you and Love doing here?”

Love, having been calmed significantly by Dora’s presence, purred happily, leaning her head over to nuzzle her friend as she spoke. Danny guessed that she was telling Dora why they came to visit.

“Really?” Dora blinked at her in surprise, then looked at Danny. “You two went to see her children? No wonder she looks so happy. Where did you see them?”

“Well, one child. We, ah, found this natural portal to Love’s era,” Danny explained, knowing that the all-powerful Infi-map was practically a myth and that Frostbite having it was a secret. He felt bad about lying to one of his few ghostly friends, but some things were better left undiscovered. “We saw this other Night Fury, and I’m pretty sure it was one of her kids. They acted like they knew each other, anyway.”

“Ah, so you didn’t see them in the Ghost Zone...” Dora blinked, “You must have incredible luck to find a portal to Love’s era so quickly.”

Danny grinned. “Something like that.”

Love warbled cheerfully, settling down comfortably as Dora absently stroked her snout. Dora smiled softly at her friend’s excitement. “She says she’s happy that she got to see her runt all grown up, because it means he escaped.”

“Yeah, I kind of got that,” Danny smiled and nodded, coming closer so he could pet Love too, “You must be proud that he lived that long, huh?”

Love nodded to his question, sighing contentedly. A soft rumble emitted from her throat, and Dora shook her head. “I wish I could have met him, Love.” She grinned. “What was his name?”

The black dragon made a sound like a chuckle, lowering her her head to rest it on the ground. Dora placed her hand on her friend’s snout, nodding.

“I wonder why he didn’t tell you his new title. Still, if he let you call him Curious like you did when he was young, he must still be a little bit so.” She said softly, then paused. “But... wasn’t he young when you last saw him? That means you were... I mean, if he was old, then that means you had been gone for centuries, to him...”

The Night Fury queen nodded sadly at this, the rumbling from before becoming softer. Danny stopped petting and looked over at her eyes, concern creasing his brow. Dora had fallen silent, not translating whatever she said.

“...Dora? That dragon, Curious? He was the only one we saw in that past era... your books said they used to be everywhere though,” Danny said slowly. “Where were all the dragons? What happened to them?”

Dora glanced over at him, then looked back at Love, her eyes cast down and calculating. The words that came out of her mouth next were cautious and carefully measured, as if she wasn’t sure what she was allowed to say. “They... they all died. Every animal dies some time, you know that, Sir Phantom.”

Danny frowned, not sure what to say to her evasiveness. Love leaned over and nudged his chest with her nose, and he looked up at her.

Dora translated her melancholy purr. “Curious was dying too, but he said he was fine with it. He said life without the other dragons was lonely... and that there was someone he wanted to meet when his time did come. He wasn’t afraid of death, like Love was.” Dora gazed up at the black dragon sympathetically. “So you’ve decided to stop mourning your son, then...”

Love sighed, a warm breath washing over both ghostly teenagers, and nodded in affirmation.

“But you’ve still got to find your daughter, and they both need to be watched over, huh...” Dora frowned, her eyes narrowing slightly. “What do you mean, ‘you have to go back’?”

Love grunted, lifting her head to look at both of them. There was a sad, determined fire in her eyes, and Danny blinked at the suddenness of that expression.

“...Sir Phantom, she said you could take her back again sometime,” Dora looked at the white-haired halfa, “and that she needs to go. She still has people she wants to find.”

Danny bit his lip, chewing it contemplatively. “Well... I guess one or two more trips wouldn’t hurt...”

Love grunted, shaking her head. Dora’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. “She says you  _do_  go again--not now, but some time. Curious said he met her before, in his past.”

Danny blinked slowly. “Wait--so... we met... we met Curious? I mean, we meet him again?” He asked, bewildered. Love gave him a calculating look, nodding. “I--wow, I really hope we don’t mess up then. I mean, time traveling is a delicate thing...”

The Night Fury murmured something, her eyes averting to Dora’s. The ghostly princess nodded in understanding.

“She brings a warning from Curious--he said that if you go into the past to meet him, not to interfere in his life or seek him out. Apparently there were some events which needed to happen, even if Love was there to watch them,” she relayed. “She’s telling you because she doesn’t think she’ll be able to keep away if she sees a younger Curious in need of help. So... you have to help her.”

Danny’s expression melted into understanding too, and he nodded solemnly. “I will. Don’t worry, Love--you already met an old Curious, right? So whatever happens, I’m sure it’ll all turn out alright in the end.”

Love warbled softly, craning her head down to nuzzle both of her companions.

Danny didn’t need Dora to translate to know that Love was still worried about her son regardless of if she knew the outcome. It was natural, he supposed, since the Night Fury queen was a mother who had so much love left to give.

~~~

“Okay, Sam, here I--”

_Thwack!_

“Wuh--hey, no fair!” Danny whined as momentum had him sprawling on the ground in two seconds.

Sam smirked, sweeping her arm out at her side, her hand firmly grasping the handle of her wooden sword. “You don’t announce when you’re going to attack, I thought you knew this by now.”

“Well yeah, but that’s in fights where I’m  _trying_  to hurt the bad guys,” Danny pouted, pushing himself to his feet and going to retrieve the other wooden sword Sam had knocked out of his hands. “Besides, this is a formal tournament, I think announcing is part of the... knight code or whatever the heck it is knights follow.”

“Nope, try again.” Sam laughed, adjusting her grip on her sword. “Come on, Danny, I’ve seen you fight better with a sword--remember that time we went to ancient China and you disguised yourself as a samurai?”

“Okay but to be fair Plasmius wasn’t exactly great with a sword either, I didn’t have much to compare to.” Danny grumbled, facing her and holding out his sword.

“Not that I’m much better, I’m just stronger than you,” Sam shrugged. “Also I don’t  _hesitate_.”

“Good to know that if I ever go dark side, you won’t think twice about literally knocking the sense back into me.” Danny grinned, “Okay, let’s try this again.”

Tucker glanced up from his PDA, rolling his eyes as his two friends practiced sword fighting in Danny’s backyard. He reclined on his seat on the steps in front of the back door, commenting idly, “Maybe Sam should enter Dora’s tournament too.”

“Ha! Maybe I should, that’ll be fun.” Sam laughed, deflecting one of Danny’s sword jabs.

“I dunno, Sam, isn’t that a little dangerous?” Danny frowned, jumping to the side to dodge Sam’s swipe, “I mean, I’ve got super healing, it’s not so bad if I get hurt. But you...”

“Worrywart,” Sam rolled her eyes, parrying Danny’s counter attack clumsily.

“You both kind of suck, though,” Tucker snickered, “Maybe you should just go for the squire camp like last year.”

“Dora really wants me in the knight’s tournament though,” Danny grinned as he caught Sam by surprise, tapping her lightly on the arm with his sword after ducking under a stab. “Besides, it took us a while to convince Love I wasn’t going to chop anyone’s head off on accident if I participated, so I kind of wanted to go through with it because  _do you know how much effort that took_? I better make it worth it!”

Sam scoffed, letting her arm fall limp and using her other arm to make another swipe--Danny jumped back to dodge that one too. “Danny, knowing you, if you don’t get a proper knight to teach you, you’re going to end up chopping off your  _own_  head.”

“I’m not that clumsy!” Danny protested indignantly, yelping when Sam hit him across both legs. “Darn it!” He whined, dropping to his knees and glaring at his friend as he raised his sword and both arms to block her incoming follow-up attack. He only ended up disarmed again, with Sam pointing her wooden weapon at his throat, smirking. “...Okay, yeah, you might have a point.”

“That’s ten to three.” Sam cheered with a joyful laugh, lowering the sword and offering a hand to help him up. He grabbed it and hauled himself up, brushing some grass stains off his knees.

“Aren’t you guys a little old to be playing imaginary swords?” Jazz’s voice sounded from the back door, and the trio looked up at her, grinning shamelessly at her amused, skeptical expression.

“We’re not playing imaginary swords!” Danny argued, “We’re practicing! Dora’s having her annual Sun Festival this weekend and she wanted me to join the knights’ tournament!”

Jazz’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Really?”

“Though they might be playing imaginary swords a liiittle bit.” Tucker teased, waving his PDA to show some pictures he’d taken while his friends were play-fighting, “These two get  _way_  into it.”

Jazz hid a snicker behind her hand, shaking her head, her long orange hair flowing behind her. Danny glared and pouted at them.

“Says the guy who really thought becoming a medieval king was a viable career option,” the black-haired boy sneered playfully.

“Hey, I was  _six_  when I told you that! Shut up!”

Danny and Sam laughed, and Jazz shook her head again. When the laughing and teasing subsided, Jazz asked, “So you’re going to enter a sword-fighting tournament? Can we come watch? I haven’t seen much of Princess Dora, so it would be nice to get to know her better, too.”

“Sure, I guess?” Danny shrugged, “I mean, Tucker and Sam are coming, so...”

Jazz lit up. “Awesome, I can’t wait! I bet there are a lot of historical artifacts in Princess Dora’s realm to study too! It could be a good opportunity to do some research for my history paper!”

Danny rolled his eyes, “Of course studying is the first thing you’d think of.”

“You didn’t get to go to the Sun Festival last year, right, Jazz?” Sam asked, leaning on her wooden sword casually, “I think you’ll have a lot of fun. Oh, and knowing Dora, she’ll probably treat you like a princess yourself! Since you’re Danny’s sister and all.”

“Really?” Jazz’s eyes widened in awe, “What’s it like being a princess?”

“Well, I wouldn’t really know since I sabotaged my time as one, but Dora’s always wanted someone she could dress up in those puffy colorful princess clothes--I’m not exactly an ideal model.” Sam rolled her eyes--she liked Dora, she really did, but the two did share some vastly different ideals at times. It made for a good debate, and while Sam could catch Dora up on some things that were considered normal in modern times, other things were so deeply ingrained in her tradition that Dora refused to let go of them.

Tucker tapped his stylus on his PDA idly. “Wouldn’t being Danny’s sister make Jazz a Lady? Since Danny’s an official knight and stuff.”

“Probably,” Sam shrugged, turning back to Danny. “So, ready for round fourteen?”

Danny grinned and lifted his sword into a battle-ready position. “I’ll beat you this time!” Jazz, behind him, just shook her head in amusement and moved to sit down next to Tucker.

“The score is still ten to three.” Sam smirked.

“That means there were still three times I beat you! And I can do it again!”

~~~

In retrospect, Danny really could have thought things through better.

Sure, he had convinced Love that the knights and him donning protective gear and handling shiny, sharp swords wouldn’t hurt anyone; and Dora had apparently later convinced the great black beast that the archers and jousters were also harmless.

But he had forgotten one important thing: Love still didn’t like humans.

She had been so calm around his human half that he had forgotten that the issue even existed--and he prematurely assumed that it meant she was also relatively okay with other humans. Bringing his fully human friends to the Sun Festival, which Dora had convinced Love to attend, which was causing her to feel anxious and jittery already because of all the people?

Yeah, in retrospect he could have thought things through better.

“Love! Down,  _down_  girl!” Danny shouted, holding onto her snout very tightly to keep her jaws clamped shut so she couldn’t fire at anyone. “Calm  _down_! Geez!”

Love growled angrily through her clenched jaws, narrowing her eyes at him accusingly. The crowd of festival attendees watched anxiously and excitedly, their eyes wide as Love thrashed her head and tried to throw Danny off.

“Love!” Dora called in exasperation, her amulet glowing as she changed form, her red eyes glaring at her friend sternly. “Please listen to Sir Phantom!” She hissed, standing between the trio of humans and the angry dragon.

Behind her, Sam and Tucker shuffled backwards nervously, frowning up at the Night Fury. Jazz, having only heard of but never seen either dragon before, whimpered quietly in fear.

“Why is it mad?” She whispered to Sam, confused and worried about the dragon her brother had befriended.

“Apparently she’s not very friendly to humans,” Sam whispered back, watching Love’s eyes dart wildly between the humans, the ghostly audience, the half-ghost, and the dragon princess. “It’s sort of a trauma thing, since humans killed her.”

Jazz’s eyebrows lifted in concern. “So... she’s not mad? Just scared...” The tremble left her eye as her gaze shifted back to the black dragon. Danny had been thrown off her nose, and she snapped at the air when her mouth was finally released. Dora’s wings flared in front of them, partially blocking their view, but from the way her chest expanded, they could tell she was ready to breathe fire if she needed to.

A blue-purple light ignited at the back of Love’s throat, and she hissed threateningly, her panicked green gaze searching for the three humans.

Jazz took a deep breath and, against the protests of her friends and the fearful hammering of her heart in her throat, she stepped forward.

“Jazz, what are you doing?” Tucker hissed, trying to pull her back.

“She’s scared. I just... want to show her there’s nothing to be scared of.” Jazz said softly, pulling her arm away from him and walking around Dora, who looked at her in surprise.

“Hi, your name is Love, right?” Jazz said cheerfully, and Love paused, looking down at her suspiciously. The redhead ignored her brother’s cries of worry. “Or--wait, I think Danny said it was polite to call you by your species name if we’re strangers, so... Hi, Night Fury Love, I’m Jazz.”

The plasma in Love’s throat died out, and she stared warily at the redhead, glancing at Danny as he landed next to her.

“Jazz, stop, you could get hurt,” Danny whispered urgently to her, trying to push her back behind Dora to protect her.

“Danny, do you really believe that? She’s your friend--and you told me she’s very loving and motherly. I don’t think she’ll hurt me. You wouldn’t make friends like that.” Jazz said softly, catching both Danny and Love off guard. “Introduce me to her properly, won’t you?”

Danny looked up at Love, blinking when he saw her conflicted face. It looked as if she was arguing with herself over whether or not she would continue and prove Jazz wrong.

On the one hand, this was someone Danny cared about--hurting her would be a bad thing, as it would hurt Danny too. On the other, it was a  _human_ \--humans hurt her before, and she was sure they would hurt her again.

Danny bit his lip and finally nodded at his sister, scooping her up into his arms and floating to be eye level with Love. At least if he was carrying her, Love would think twice about trying to blast her.

“Love, this is my sister, Jazz,” he said softly, watching as Love’s eyes widened. She took a moment to process what Danny had said--the word “sister” seemed to strike a chord in Love’s brain, and she glanced over at Dora.

Dora settled down a bit, her wings folding against her back when she saw that Love was calming. She nodded to Love’s unasked question, the bewilderment in her eyes obvious. “Yes, this is Sir Phantom’s sister--the child who bears the same parents as him.”

Love blinked slowly, looking back at Jazz, her pupils thinning and widening periodically as she tried to decide whether or not Jazz was a threat. Glowing peridot green met lively teal blue, and Love made a nearly inaudible gasp of surprise when she saw the determined kindness in them. They were so alike to Danny’s blue eyes--kind and patient and unexpectedly bright.

“I know you’re scared,” Jazz said softly, so as to not startle the great black beast, who only stared back at her in mild surprise when she started speaking. She didn’t break eye contact, continuing sympathetically, “I know you’re scared but it’s okay, I won’t hurt you--no one here will hurt you. And if we do--well,  _then_  you can maul us, but I promise we won’t.” She grinned nervously, watching those deep black slits settle on wide curiosity.

Love narrowed her eyes slightly in scrutiny, murmuring something under her breath. Dora stepped closer, her form shrinking back to her human shape.

“Do you not trust us, Love? Sir Phantom would not bring humans here if he knew they would harm you.” She said patiently, “Trust us, Love. Please. Believe Lady Jazz’s words--they are ours as well.”

Danny looked down at her, slowly lowering himself to the ground and setting Jazz down. Jazz brushed herself off and looked back up at Love. “I know humans hurt you. I don’t doubt that, but we are not those humans.” She held out her hands, showing that they were empty. “If you don’t believe me, you can see for yourself--I have no weapons, I’m not even particularly big or strong. I can’t hurt you even if I wanted to.”

Love lowered her head to their level, still scrutinizing the redhead. Jazz smiled and glanced at her brother and their ghostly companion. “Hey, can you step back from me?”

“Why?” Danny asked incredulously. Dora looked confused, but she complied, shooting a questioning glance to the half-ghost.

“Trust me, Danny.”

Danny hesitated, but eventually he took a few steps back too, glancing between Love and Jazz nervously.

Jazz turned back to Love, her hands still held out. “If you still think I will hurt you, by all means, defend yourself.” She announced boldly, nodding firmly and closing her eyes in anticipation of the oncoming pain--if any. “I won’t retaliate, I promise.”

“Jazz!” Danny hissed in alarm, about to step forward again, but a hand on his arm stopped him. He looked up at Sam, who shook her head and pointed. Danny frowned and refocused his gaze, finding Love’s eyes--they hadn’t left Jazz, but they didn’t show any sign of aggression.

There was suspicion, curiosity, surprise, and confusion; but no anger, hate, or hostility. Danny relaxed at that.

Love inched forward cautiously, still wary, and Danny watched her apprehensively, as if she was literally going to bite his sister’s head off. He didn’t really know what to expect out of Love--he wanted to believe she was kind enough to not hurt anyone, but he also wasn’t stupid enough to not realize she was a very large, very ferocious fire-breathing dragon. A dragon who had, in fact, attacked both him Dora on sight when they first met her, and who had tried to attack all of his human friends the moment she scented them, so far.

He didn’t want to think of one of his friends as a threat to his other friends, but he knew when to face facts--Love was still a young ghost, and her powers and emotions were unstable. He didn’t know what to do but try his best to protect everyone--including Love.

He let out a breath of relief when Love only nudged his sister with her snout, sniffing at her experimentally. Jazz flinched, but otherwise remained still--and Love could smell her fear and anxiety, but she could feel the hope and faith coming off her in soft pulses too.

It was such a warm feeling, much like the fingers that tickled her leathery black skin when she brushed her nose against Jazz’s hand. Jazz gasped, opening her eyes, but Love had already pulled back, grunting softly as she turned her head away.

Dora smiled. “She says you’re not what she expected, for a human, Lady Jazz,” the ghostly princess translated, “and that she won’t attack as long as no one bothers her.”

Jazz beamed. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Well, I wasn’t expecting you guys to become best friends, so I’m pretty happy with that,” Danny grinned in tremendous relief, flying up to Love and putting out his hand to stroke her snout. She allowed this, harrumphing grumpily. “Thank you, Love.”

The dragon’s green eyes met his, and she nodded slightly to acknowledge his thanks. Danny’s smile grew more cheerful, and he motioned down to his friends and Dora. “Can I introduce you to all of them, now? I’ve wanted to for a while, you know.”

Love frowned, but said nothing as Danny floated back to ground level, pulling his pale-skinned friend over first. “Love, this is Sam, one of my best friends.”

“And one of mine,” Dora piped up cheerfully, putting her hand on Sam’s shoulder and squeezing it affectionately.

Sam grinned nervously up at Love. “Hey! Uh, sorry about last time we met? But it’s nice to formally meet you, I guess.”

The Night Fury queen settled on her back haunches, looking down at the goth girl and studying her. Danny rolled his eyes when she gave no other acknowledgement, pulling his jittery techno-geek friend up next.

“This is Tucker, my other best friend. Practically my brother,” he introduced in a chipper voice.

Love turned her head to study him next, her eyes narrowing at the dark-skinned boy in confusion. Tucker yelped and waved timidly at the attention. “Uh, hi, big scary dragon? Please don’t eat me?”

Love glared at him and murmured something, and Dora giggled.

“He’s just scared, Love,” the princess explained, shaking her head, “and they are not literally brothers. They are as close as real ones, though.” She tapped her chin thoughtfully, trying to figure out how to explain the relationship in a way Love would understand. “I suppose all three of them have a relationship akin to what you would call a clutch. They are clutch mates.”

The three humans and one half-ghost exchanged confused glances, not quite sure what Dora was talking about, but understanding flooded Love’s eyes and she warbled softly.

“Yes. A bond as close as family,” Dora replied. “These three--they are Sir Phantom’s pack.”

Danny looked surprised, then smiled widely. He remembered when Dora had told him that Love considered them part of her pack, so he would be proud to say that about all of his friends.

“Hopefully someday, they’ll be a part of yours too, Love.” Danny nodded at her, and she snorted in return.

Dora sighed, shaking her head. “You might be surprised at what Sir Phantom can accomplish, Love. You may think it’s impossible, but really... so is he. So he’ll make it possible.” She smiled softly, then turned to the human group. “Anyway, I apologize for Love and... all of this. I hope she didn’t scare you too badly.”

“No, it’s fine,” Jazz shook her head, “though it did get scary there for a minute.”

“Yeah, yup, all good,” Tucker nodded vigorously, and Sam rolled her eyes.

“You don’t have to apologize for her. We get it--it’ll take time for her to get over her issues.” Sam nodded at the huge reptilian best, then looked back at Dora. “Anyway, didn’t we have a festival to go to?”

“Right!” Dora lit up, motioning to them. “Please, this way! Oh, I’m sure my people are waiting anxiously for my opening speech--we’re terribly late! Come, Lady Sam, you are being honored as our hero as much as Sir Phantom is!”

“Now that time moves, I guess ‘being late’ actually means something,” Danny snickered, hovering next to his sister and best friend as Dora grabbed Sam by the arm and started leading the way to the stadium they had built for the more entertaining festival events. They could see the crowd already there, looking toward the telltale Night Fury at the edge as if they could discern why she was stressed before.

Love ignored them, lumbering off to the side of the stadium, where they had left a huge opening for her to enter and exit if she needed to. She settled down at the edge, just under the shadows of the bleachers.

“Come on, let’s go grab the good seats,” Danny motioned to the loge Dora had set up for them, grabbing Jazz and Tucker by the arm and flying them up, phasing them through the wood floor.

“That will never not be weird,” Jazz joked once they were set down, looking over the stadium.

“Yeah, sorry about that,” Danny laughed, shaking his head. “Anyway, I gotta go join Princess Dora and Sam for the opening speech thing. We’ll be back here soon.”

“Five bucks says Danny’s going to stutter and mess up his speech,” Tucker called as Danny started to fly off.

“Hey! I will not!” Danny squawked indignantly.

Jazz laughed, leaning over the ledge of the loge and glancing down to see Sam and Dora making their way to the center of the field in the middle of the stadium. “Danny’s more confident than that, Tucker. I’d have better chances if I bet he’d make a dozen puns.”

Danny stuck his tongue out at them and flew down to meet Sam and Dora, intentionally ignoring them. The dark-skinned boy grinned widely, turning to his best friend’s sister.

“I’ll take that bet,” Tucker held out his hand, and Jazz rolled her eyes and shook it. “You only win  _if_  he makes a dozen puns--that’s twelve, no less.”

“Deal.”

They turned back as Dora called for their attention, cheerfully welcoming them all to the second annual Sun Festival.

Love sighed as she watched everyone cheer excitedly for the heroes of their land, idly looking up at the box where Tucker and Jazz were spectating. The two of them, and Sam and Danny, were going to come to every day of this festival thing, weren’t they?

Somehow, she thought, getting her instinct under control was going to take a lot out of her. This was going to be a long week, but she had to try to make it through it--who knew, maybe she would come out of it better.


	7. Berk

“So, how’s it feel to have started your third year as the ruling monarch?” Danny grinned as he approached his friend, who sat slightly slumped in her throne.

Dora smiled tiredly and nodded to the servant who had led Danny to the throne room, and she bowed deeply and backed away, literally disappearing as soon as her job was done. The ghostly princess stood, waving away her attendant and descending the steps to meet her friend and knight.

“Honestly? I’m exhausted--not that I don’t like being the princess, but after the Sun Festival... I could use a break,” Dora admitted sheepishly.

“It’s because you love your people that you work so hard,” Danny patted her shoulder comfortingly.

“You’re right. Aragon never got this exhausted--but then he never loved our kingdom like I did.” The green-skinned ghost shook her head, motioning with her hand for Danny to follow her. “I suppose I’ll get used to the workload eventually, but after sixteen hundred years of playing servant to my brother... these past two years have been overwhelming.”

“It’s a hard change to get used to, I imagine,” Danny nodded, falling into step beside her as they walked, “but you’re doing pretty well, and I’d say a break is well-deserved.” Then he grinned brightly, seeing that they were going outside. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

“A visit to Love? I’d hardly count that as a break,” Dora giggled, “I’m taking about an actual vacation. A few days of... not having to be all queenly, you know?”

“You should come visit Amity Park for a few days sometime, then. I’m sure Sam would love to go chandelier swinging with you,” he snickered, “I mean, granted that my parents don’t cut the visit short.”

“I suppose getting away from them is part of the thrill of every visit.” Dora shook her head, pausing to hover slightly as they made it to the edge of the forest. Danny copied her, and then they were soaring through the sky above the trees. “Not that I come out often, but I hear from others that if they’re not trying to escape you, they’re trying to escape your parents or that Red Huntress.”

“Red Hunt... oh, Valerie. Is that what the ghosts call her? Fitting.” Danny nodded, looking ahead to spy the rocky mountain-like area where Love’s cave was. “Yeah trying to get away from Valerie is harder, she’s better than my parents.”

“Hmm. I do hope I don’t run into her then,” Dora mused, “but I don’t think I’d like the thrill as much as other ghosts do. Pardon if it seems rude, but I think I’d rather not visit Amity Park for a vacation.”

The half-ghost boy laughed, shaking his head. “Yeah, no offense taken, don’t worry about it. I wouldn’t exactly vacation there either.”

The pair landed in the clearing in front of the cave, and Danny looked in to see if he could spot their large scaly friend. Dora suddenly snorted, her hand shooting to her mouth to stifle her laugh, and Danny looked over at her before following her gaze to the nearby trees.

Love was hanging upside down from one of the branches, fast asleep.

Danny didn’t hold back like Dora did, laughing out loud. Love’s glassy green eyes blinked open sleepily, looking in their direction before she uncurled her tail from the tree branch she was hanging onto, flipping over in the same movement and landing gracefully on the ground like a cat.

“I knew Night Furies liked to sleep like bats, but I didn’t think I’d see it,” Danny joked, grinning as Love shook her head to clear her slumber. She glared over at him in confusion, grumbling as if wondering why the way she slept was funny.

“He’s just easily amused,” Dora waved her hand dismissively to a question Danny couldn’t hear, “though it does make me wonder about the other way you sleep. I’ve seen you shoot fire at the ground and lay down on it--is there a reason you do that, rather than sleeping in a tree?”

Love rolled her eyes, snorting and answering in a purr. Danny’s laughter subsided, and he looked over to Dora curiously to see what the reply was--and, having anticipated that he wanted a translation, Dora readily paraphrased the answer out loud.

“She warms the ground when it’s cold out, and sleeps in the trees when it’s warmer than usual.”

“Uh, but doesn’t her species normally live up north? It’s cold all the time over there. I should know, I already visited once.” Danny blinked, moving over to sit down near the rock he usually leaned against.

Love gave a toothless sneer-like grin, warbling at him in what he recognized as a teasing tone. He pouted playfully and stuck his tongue out at her, even though he wasn’t really sure what she was teasing him about.

Dora giggled again, shaking her head as she joined him against the rock. “She’s calling you weak for thinking that was cold. She’s relatively cold-blooded for a dragon, so it’s worse for her,” the ghostly princess explained, reaching out to pet Love as she padded over and settled down near them, “though as she’s impervious to the weather now, it seems it’s a habit more than anything, these days.”

Danny took a moment to process that information. “...You’re cold-blooded, Love?” He asked after a moment, and the dragon nodded, purring softly. “Huh. I wouldn’t have thought so. You feel warm, when I touch you. Even in ghost form, when I’m cooler.”

Love blinked at him in confusion, and he looked back into her eyes for a moment before he let a ring of white erupt around his waist. Love flinched, her eyes flickering to the hovering light briefly, and then she stilled when she realized that was Danny’s way of warning her he was going to transform.

Danny nodded, and the rings split in two, passing over him in less than a second, and suddenly the boy sitting against the rock was lacking a glow and his mesmerizing green eyes had become an enchanting blue. Silently, he reached out his hand to her nose, and when Love still didn’t move, he gently brushed his fingers over her skin.

“Yeah... you’re warm. It’s sort of a nice feeling,” the now human teenager whispered gently, trying not to startle his friend, “like dipping cold hands into warm water.”

Dora hummed beside them, drawing both of their attentions. “What do I feel like, when you touch my dragon form, Sir Phantom?” She asked curiously.

“Kind of like dry ice, maybe?” Danny responded with a thoughtful look, shrugging, “I think it’s your fire core. You’ve got that cold feeling like ectoplasm, but it also feels like I might get burned if I keep touching you for too long. A bit like frostbite, actually.” He glanced at Dora when she moved to stroke Love’s neck, and he asked, “What does Love feel like to you?”

“Normal, I suppose,” Dora shrugged, “she doesn’t feel particularly hot or cold.”

Love murmured softly, laying her head down on the ground. Danny put his hand on her nose again, and she looked up at him, contemplative.

“She says I feel like the ground after she’s warmed it for sleeping on,” Dora chuckled lightheartedly, “and that your touch--in your other form at least--is cool like the snow from her home.”

“Well I have an ice core, so I guess that’s normal,” Danny grinned brightly, “what do I feel like right now, Love?”

Love stared at him for a moment, then closed her eyes, crooning something so softly Dora almost missed it.

“...You feel like her children when they’re sleeping against her.”

Dora’s expression softened, and she continued stroking Love’s neck as if to comfort her. Danny glanced between them, his own grin fading, replaced with concern. His thumb gently traced her scales, absently caressing the skin beneath.

“You still miss them, huh.”

Love warbled quietly, nodding against the ground. Dora sighed. “She wants to see them again,” she translated, “and she hadn’t wanted to say anything during the Sun Festival because it seemed important for us to celebrate it.”

Love opened her eyes, gazing longingly at Danny. She remembered seeing him with his sister during the festival--they laughed and played and joked together, and it was obvious they were close. Love may not have liked humans--she had barely tolerated a week with them--but Danny and Jazz’s unmistakable resemblances to her own children made her miss them even more.

Danny sighed and shook his head. “Love... I know you want to go find another portal to that time, but these things are tricky. We won’t know where we’ll end up, or how long it’ll be before we can come back, or even how much time will pass while we’re gone,” he explained apologetically, “I can’t just up and leave without making sure Amity Park is protected while I’m away, and I have to get my friends to cover for me so my parents don’t ask questions.”

Dora blinked when Love grumbled, upset but understanding. The dragon princess tilted her head. “Why don’t you plan it, then?”

“Plan it?” Danny looked up.

“Well, the weekend is coming up, and if you can spare a few days, that should cover any possible temporal displacements, yes?” Dora suggested, “Though Clockwork would have to be on your side for you to get back in those few days.”

“That’s the second time someone’s said that,” Danny rolled his eyes, “but yeah, I can do that. Though I’d still worry about Amity Park being unprotected for a whole weekend... I mean, my friends can cover fine for like a day, but once the other ghosts realize I’m gone they’ll swarm the place and my friends won’t be able to handle it.”

“Well, you did say there was the Red Huntress and your parents too,” Dora said slowly, only vaguely aware of how Love’s eyes were shifting between them hopefully, “but if you’re that worried about ghosts coming through your portal, I could send some guards to protect it on this side, so they don’t get into yours.”

“Really?” Danny lit up, “Man if there were guards on this side all the time, I could probably get some sleep on the school nights!”

Dora smiled in amusement. “I’ll see what I can do about posting guards regularly. But for this weekend, if you wanted to go time traveling with Love, I can surely arrange some of my men to cover your portal.”

“You might also want to have a few keeping an eye on Plasmius’ portal. Some get out through there too,” the black-haired teenager added. “But yeah, that’d be so great! Wow, you’re the best, Princess Dora!”

Love finally piped up, lifting her head and looking at Dora pointedly as she crooned in curiosity.

Dora blinked slowly, then a grin slowly spread across her lips. “Yes, yes I did say that, and that,” she sat up straighter, her grin widening, “I would love to meet your children!”

“Wait, what?” Danny blinked, lost on Love’s half of the conversation. Sometimes he could guess what she said based on Dora’s response, but this one confused him.

“Sir Phantom, we request that I be allowed to come with you on your next expedition to the past!” Dora said brightly in a tone Danny hadn’t heard since she had come to his school disguised as Dora Mattingly. “This could be the vacation I needed!”

“Wha--wait, you’re going to come with us next time?” Danny gasped, “Wow, uh, that’d be great and all, but I’m not sure if Frostbite would...” He trailed off, realizing that even if Dora didn’t know about the Infi-map, she was already friends--or at least allies--with Frostbite, so the yeti ghost probably wouldn’t mind if Dora found out about it. Plus, he didn’t seem to mind Danny’s other friends knowing about it--Love included--and Danny knew he wouldn’t have his friends if he didn’t trust them. Yeah, it would be fine.

“What’s this about Frostbite?” Dora blinked, confusion marring her expression for a moment.

“Nothing, but he’s the one who helped us find the portal last time,” Danny shrugged. “You’ll see how when we go next time.”

“So I get to go?” Dora’s grin brightened again, jumping up cheerfully and patting Love on the neck excitedly. “Fantastic! I’ll have to arrange for one of my advisers to be in charge while I’m away, but I look forward to the trip!”

Love warbled a laugh, and Danny shook his head at his friend’s antics.

~~~

It turned out that Dora already knew about the Infi-map, much to Danny’s surprise. Being one of the oldest ghosts in the Ghost Zone apparently meant she had been around when it was found and then entrusted to Frostbite.

With all their arrangements made and all their supplies packed--because Danny was sure to be better prepared  _and_  better dressed this time around--Love reluctantly let her two friends ride on her back.

“Aw come on, letting us ride you isn’t that humiliating is it?” Danny rolled his eyes.

“I’ve said before, it’s more of an honor,” Dora commented, one hand on the Infi-map and the other wrapped around Danny’s waist just in case.

Love snorted, looking ahead impatiently. Danny rolled his eyes again, looking back at Frostbite on the ground. “We’ll get the map back as soon as we can. See you later, Frostbite!”

“No problem, Great One. Have a safe trip!” The yeti-ghost waved once more, bowing his head a little as Love opened her wings and jumped, hovering in the air.

“Ready, Dora, Love?” Danny glanced at each companion, and they nodded.

“Okay, Infi-map, take us to Love’s home!”

Dora, despite having known of the Infi-map before, hadn’t expected its physics-defying pull, and she screamed as they zoomed through the Ghost Zone.

She only stopped when they had been deposited on the other side of a portal, dumped into the ocean because the portal had been facing downward.

The trio came up coughing, and Danny made a face, turning intangible and gliding out of the water, completely dry since any water that soaked him fell right through. Danny glanced down at the map, making sure it was dry before rolling it up carefully and sticking it into his backpack.

“Okay, so where...” Danny stopped, looking beside him where Dora had floated up, also dry, and then to where he last saw Love in the water. She hadn’t come up. “...Can Night Furies swim?”

“Yes, but I believe she’s panicking,” Dora frowned, also looking down at the ocean. “She’s still thinking of the world in terms of physics that apply to the living, so she may believe she’s drowning.” She sighed and shook her head. “Wait here, I shall get her.”

Dora dove back down into the ocean, and Danny watched in slight worry. He bit his lip, deciding to take his time to look around while waiting for the two dragon women to resurface. It was night time, and the stars were shining brightly overhead through the clouds, so he could easily spot his favorite constellations. He called up his mental map of the sky, trying to pinpoint their exact location, before he turned his gaze to his immediate surroundings. They appeared to be in the middle of nowhere, as he couldn’t see the outline of any nearby islands even with his enhanced ghostly night vision.

A splash a few feet below him brought his attention back to his friends, and he looked down to see Dora, in dragon form, heaving Love up. The Night Fury was practically draped on top of the slightly smaller dragon, her eyes wide and constricted.

“Hey--hey, Love, it’s fine now. You’re okay,” Danny flew up to her so he was eye-level, “you’re a ghost now remember? You can’t die again.”

Love nodded weakly and whimpered a little, slowly pulling herself away from Dora and trying to fly on her own. Once Dora was sure Love was fine, she hovered next to Danny and turned intangible, drying herself off again.

The Night Fury flapped her wings a few times, hovering before them and looking at them in confusion. Every flap sent a spray of ice cold water at them, and Danny lifted an eyebrow as he brushed some of the water away. “You don’t know how to become intangible at will yet, I’m guessing.”

“Like I said, she’s not used to thinking like a ghost yet.” Dora shook her head, flying up and nudging the other dragon with her snout. She turned see-through for a brief second, and Love yelped when the chill of intangibility passed through her as well. “We’ll have to practice that when we have time,” she smiled kindly, and Love grunted with a small nod in response.

“Right so,” Danny spoke up, pointing at the sky as he continued, “I’m not entirely sure where we are but the North Star is over there, and the moon looks like it’s crossing the sky that way,” he made an arc with his finger from over his head to a space in front of his nose, “so I think that island we met Curious at last time is in the east, and Love’s original nest is in the west. I’m not sure what year we were dropped into, though, so I don’t know if it will still be deserted.”

Dora and Love exchanged surprised glances, and when she looked back, Dora asked, “How did you do that?”

“Are you kidding? I love stars!” Danny puffed up his chest proudly, “I’ve had the constellations memorized since I was ten. Finding the North Star isn’t that hard--well, if Polaris is still the North Star at least.” He deflated a little and shrugged, grinning sheepishly, “But Polaris has been the North Star since like the fifth century, so unless we’re before that time, it should be fairly accurate.”

“Amazing,” Dora shook her head, looking up at the sky in awe, “I haven’t seen stars so bright since I was alive, and I hadn’t even been thinking of the sky when I went to visit your world, Sir Phantom. I really should think about adding some to my own domain.”

Danny grinned widely. “That’d be great! I could help you make it accurate if you want.”

Love rolled her eyes and chortled, getting their attention. “Right, sorry,” Dora blushed in embarrassment, “we did come here to find your children. So, which way do you want to go?”

The Night Fury paused for a moment, contemplative, and then she warbled and tossed her head to the direction Danny had pointed out as east.

“To Curious it is,” Danny nodded, needing no translation. “Hopefully he’s still there.”

~~~

The sun was rising when Danny yawned, and trio of ghosts having flown through the night. Dora, still in dragon form since it was easier to fly that way, noticed and suggested they find the nearest island and rest.

 _“We haven’t seen an island all night,”_  Love snorted, looking around anyway,  _“I did not know humans could be nocturnal, though.”_

“They’re not,” Dora giggled, “but when we left Sir Phantom’s time era, it was late afternoon for him. His body must think the day is well into the night now. He must be exhausted.”

“I  _am_ ,” Danny yawned again, too tired to try to figure out what made Dora giggle. “Hey Dora, if we can’t find a place to rest soon, can I just... sleep on your back, or something?”

Dora nodded, “Sure. I don’t mind. If you wanted to rest now, feel free--I don’t need sleep, as you do, so we can keep going while you recover your strength.”

Danny grinned sleepily, gliding over and settling himself on her back, glad to have some reprieve--he loved flying, but doing it for several hours straight was tiring. “I actually need something to eat. I’m starving!” He took off the backpack, rummaging through it and pulling out a stick of jerky before re-shouldering the pack. He transformed back into his human half, idly munching on the piece of dried meat.

Love sighed, looking around for a place to land. They found one an hour later in a small cluster of rocks sticking out of the ocean--it was small, but it would do. They let Danny off there, and, without transforming back to his human self, he proceeded to lay down on the largest one and fall asleep. “Wake me up in a few hours.” He mumbled before drifting off, apparently content with the hard floor and only his backpack as a pillow. Dora giggled and floated nearby, watching him just in case he rolled off in his sleep.

“Okay, since we’ll be here for a few hours at the least,” she looked over to Love, who tilted her head curiously, “shall we work on your basic ghost powers?”

_“What? What do you mean?”_

“Well, Sir Phantom told me of a time before when you went intangible and couldn’t get yourself to become solid again for a while,” Dora shrugged her large shoulders, “and as you displayed earlier, you don’t have a handle on that power to be able to call it at will. So we should practice that--among other things.”

 _“Oh, I suppose...”_  Love seemed unsure,  _“Will it not disturb Danny?”_

“He’ll be fine. I think he’s more tired than he shows, so he’ll sleep through whatever we do.” Dora glanced at the sleeping half-ghost. “In any case, you’re not firing ecto-blasts and attacking him, so he won’t get up.”

Love took a moment to contemplate, then nodded slowly.

_“...Okay, what do I have to do to master this ability?”_

~~~

“Hey, it’s that volcano from last time...” Danny murmured as they passed over the huge island--it was the middle of the day but mist was already rolling in, and Dora predicted that there would be a storm soon.

The trio looked down at the volcano islands, and Love grumbled apprehensively,  _“The remains are missing... this must be an era before the Six-Eye died. We should move on, quickly.”_

“Remains?” Dora looked over, “What remains?”

“The last time we were here, we saw the skeleton of the Red Death, though it doesn’t look like it’s here anymore,” Danny answered, easily guessing what Love and Dora were talking about. He looked over at his black-scaled friend, frowning. “Love looks worried. What’s wrong?”

Love shook her head, tossing it before flying faster.  _“We should not linger. This is the Six-Eye’s den, and if she is still alive then I do not wish to encroach upon her immediate territory. We are trying to avoid attention, remember?”_

“Love says that the Red Death is still alive, so we should get out of here before she finds out we’re in her territory,” Dora paraphrased, “So I suppose... we are certainly in an era where the dragons were abundant and alive.”

Danny blinked, flying to catch up with Love. “Well at least it means we’re in the right time era, right? And that island is a good landmark--it means we’re near the place we saw Curious,” he grinned, trying to ease Love’s nerves. “What’s so bad about being around here anyway? If there are dragons around maybe we can ask them where to find your other kids.”

Love grunted, glancing at Danny briefly before looking ahead again.  _“The Six-Eye rules her people with fear, halfling. Her call controls them--they would not be able to answer even if we asked, and they would more likely tell her we are here.”_  Beside them, Dora murmured a translation so Danny could understand what Love was explaining.  _“I would not like to incur her anger. Her call makes my ears ring, even if it can’t control me.”_

Danny’s smile dropped, and he looked over his shoulder to the volcano island, now a speck in the distance. He caught Dora’s gaze when he looked forward again, and he couldn’t help but feel like he was missing something.

~~~

“Oh.”

“Somehow I get the feeling both of you forgot this was a human settlement,” Dora mused, glancing at her two friends as they slowed to hover.

“Well it was empty last time. I forgot this was the past,” Danny defended himself weakly, looking toward the island in the near distance. In the darkness of the misty night it was nothing more than a black outline against the softly roaring ocean, but fires lit the mouths of the two statues carved from the pillars in front of the island, and light could be seen shining from the square windows of scattered houses.

Love growled softly, glaring at the houses.  _“If they’re here, then Curious might not be...”_

“It wouldn’t hurt to check, right?” Dora tilted her head, then went back to looking at the lit-up houses, eyeing the shadows that passed the windows.

 _“No, it... shouldn’t...”_  Love murmured uncertainly, coasting in her flight to descend, still watching the human village warily.  _“But I don’t know where Curious could be if he’s not in the same place...”_

“He was in this... cove, I think, last time we were here,” Danny started saying, following her lead and trying to stay close to her, “I think it was in the forest, that w--”

“ _Dreki!_ ”

Danny jolted, looking down at the island abruptly, where a few figures lit by torches could be seen pointing through the mist--they were pointing directly at Love and Dora.

Love growled threateningly, narrowing her eyes as that single shout from the island native stirred panic--the rest of the island began to wake, people coming out of houses and looking around frantically, their gazes on the sky in search of danger.

Dora’s head fins flared, and she focused her hearing on the people, trying to make out what they were saying.

“Dragons?! Tonight?! It’s too hard to see, though! How many?!” Someone shouted in what Dora recognized as Old Norse, “Are you sure? They don’t normally raid us on misty nights! Especially when a storm is coming in!”

And as if on cue, lightning flashed in the sky right behind the ghostly trio, and some of the villagers spotted their silhouettes against the clouds.

“Night Fury!” Someone screamed in terror upon recognizing the brief glimpse of the shape in the mist, and Danny found himself surprised that he was able to understand them. “Get down!”

“Uh, this is bad,” Danny mumbled with wide eyes, tracking the villagers’ movements with a quick, trained eye, “Aaaaand they’re pulling out catapults. We should get out of here!”

“Think like a ghost, Sir Phantom,” Dora shook her head, “turn invisible!”

“Right, good idea!” Danny gasped, nodding and immediately turning invisible. Love saw this and did the same, though she still seemed annoyed by the humans below, and Dora returned to her human shape before turning invisible too.

Down below, the villagers were panicking about the suddenly vanished shadow of the Night Fury. Danny heard a deep voice barking out something that sounded like orders, but he ignored it when he heard Dora’s voice.

“Sir Phantom,” the ghostly princess called out, “can you take my hand? We best get away from the village and head over to that cove you mentioned, but I don’t know the way.”

“Sure,” Danny’s voice came beside her, and a moment later she felt something touch her shoulder. She grabbed his hand, and he squeezed it gently before he started pulling her toward the forest on the other side of the island. “Love, you with us?”

Love roared quietly in response, somewhere to their left, and satisfied with that, Danny called, “We’ll meet you over at the cove!”

There was an affirmative grunt and the swish of wind that came with the flap of powerful wings. Danny didn’t waste time taking off either.

~~~

The group returned in visibility once they touched down, and Love immediately stalked around the cove floor, inspecting the walls with narrowed eyes. Danny blinked at her, then turned to Dora. “Well, I knew dragons and humans didn’t get along, but that seemed a little weird, didn’t it?”

“These humans are used to dragon raids, apparently,” Dora nodded. “Remember that we are still within range of the Red Death’s territory. This must be one of the islands her dragons steal food from.”

“Well yeah,” Danny frowned, “but... the way they responded to seeing us--or at least, you and Love. It was...” He trailed off, not quite sure how to describe what he felt coming from the villagers.

“Anger and vengeance?” Dora suggested, tilting her head. “True that most people would run from things bigger and more powerful than them--but these people seem to have developed a method for facing the things they’ve come to hate. They’ve overcome their natural fear in order to survive.”

“I guess... but it seems wrong to target something out of hate like that,” Danny shifted uncomfortably--he knew the feeling all too well, of course. The way those villagers reacted reminded him of Amity Park and their reactions to ghosts--it was the same.

He sighed, turning to Love because she had been quiet for a while, only to stop and stare because she was sitting absolutely still next to one of the walls of the cove. “Uh... Love?”

Love grumbled something, not turning her head to face them, and when he flew over to look at her face, he saw that she was glaring.

“She said the cave and the waterfall are missing, and the pond is smaller,” Dora translated, floating over as well. “Love, this is the past--of course things are going to be different.”

A defeated sigh escaped the black dragon’s lips, and she made a frustrated growl. Danny tentatively reached out and stroked her neck, trying to calm her. “Yeah, I get it--it means Curious isn’t here, and won’t be for a while.” His eyebrows furrowed sympathetically, “Don’t worry, we’ll get out there and search again in the morning. He can’t be that far away, right? We could always head back and check your old nesting grounds.”

“Perhaps in the daytime--this place looks relatively secluded, so it’s a good place to rest for a while, Sir Phantom, if you need to feed yourself and sleep. The storm looks like it will be arriving soon, if the thunderclouds are any indication,” Dora motioned above them to the blackened night sky, “and I’m afraid we won’t be able to find our way if you can’t read the stars.”

“Oh, good point,” Danny nodded, looking up at the sky warily. “Love, what do you say? Can we take a break tonight?”

Love tilted her head up to the sky, frowning, but she nodded after a few moments. She finally turned away from the wall, padding to a more open space across from the lake and settling down--the only sign of her anxiousness was the irritated flick of her tail. A rumble at the back of her throat made Dora’s ears perk as she moved to sit nearby her.

“I wouldn’t worry about the humans from that village finding us--even if they did, we could go invisible again.” Dora nodded at her reassuringly, “It’s one of the upsides of being a ghost.”

Love grunted, turning her head to watch Danny as he gathered a few twigs and rocks to make a fire pit. In the distance, she could hear rain beginning to pelt the ground, so the called to him softly, curling up and lifting one wing to make a shelter.

Dora blinked, translating for her, “Sir Phantom, Love is offering us shelter for the night.” She moved to sit against Love instead of next to her, resting her head against the great black dragon’s soft belly. Danny made his way over too, sitting down next to her and making his fire pit under Love’s protection just as the rain reached them and began to pelt the ground with chilly droplets.

Danny glanced out at the rain through the gaps between Love’s wing and her head, which she tucked under her wing to keep dry. She whined softly, laying her head on the ground.

“Yeah, we’re fine, Love. Thanks for keeping us dry,” Danny grinned at her, reaching out and petting her snout affectionately.

“Did you just understand her?” Dora asked, an amused lilt to her voice.

“Nah, I’m just getting better at reading her. She’s a real mother hen sometimes. It’s totally predictable,” Danny laughed softly.

Love snorted indignantly, glaring playfully at her halfling. Danny only laughed again, baring his teeth at her just as playfully. “You totally are, you can’t deny that.”

“She’s actually offended because you called her a hen,” Dora giggled, “She eats hens when she can find them, you know. So she doesn’t like being called something lower on the food chain.”

“Oh. Well the more you know.” Danny shook his head, “But it was just a phrase. I guess there are still a few things lost in translation, like that.”

Love smiled a little, and Dora giggled again. Danny took off his backpack, reverting to human form with the intent to rest and conserve his energy, but suddenly he was shivering despite his thick winter coat. “Is it just me or is it colder here than it was last time we visited?”

Love lifted her head a little, looking upward toward the rainy sky and sniffing the air before she warbled softly. Dora nodded in response to both of them, saying out loud, “It must be winter here. Or almost winter.”

“Winters here must be harsh,” Danny mused, digging through his backpack and pulling out an extra blanket, wrapping it around himself before he held his hands out to warm them by the fire, “there’s less food since vegetation doesn’t grow so well in the cold, and less animals are being born this time of year...” He paused, thinking about the village they had passed by earlier. “Do you think, with all the dragon raids, those villagers will be okay?”

“What do you mean?” Love and Dora both looked over at him.

“Well, you said that they’re used to dragon raids,” Danny absently looked in the direction of the village, “and from the sounds of their shouts, it seemed like they were trying to protect what little they had left for the winter. Do the dragons steal from them because winter is harsh on dragons too? Would they have a hard time like the humans do because there’s less going around for everyone?”

Love blinked slowly. She mumbled something, seeming unsure. Dora translated, “Dragons are usually fine with scarce amounts of food--they can go for a few days without eating and they’ll survive. Most species hibernate through the winter, too, so it’s never much of a worry.”

Danny frowned. “Then the dragons stealing from the humans...”

“The Red Death is greedy, so the dragons steal food for her out of fear.” Dora shrugged, looking over at their third companion, who gazed sadly at the black-haired teenager. “...Love is asking whether that makes you hate dragons. Whether those dragons that hurt humans make you change your mind.”

“No.” Danny shook his head, turning his gaze to his friends before averting his eyes, “Like people and like ghosts, I know there are some bad dragons and some good ones. Those dragons aren’t really... okay, they are doing things that are wrong, but not willingly. Even if the humans hate those dragons for what they’re doing, it all seems like they just don’t understand  _why_ , so they just... resort to revenge and bitterness.”

“...You want to help, don’t you, Sir Phantom?” Dora asked softly, “I know you. You are  _kindness_ \--you want to help free those dragons from the queen’s command, so they don’t have to hurt the humans anymore. You want to protect  _all_  of them.”

“Don’t you?” Danny looked up, “I know what it’s like to be controlled against my will. It’s not fun. And you know what it’s like too, even if it’s in a different way.”

Love looked alarmed at this, whimpering at them in concern. Danny smiled weakly and pet her reassuringly. “It’s fine. It was one of the worst experiences of my life, but I got out of it.”

“As did I,” Dora nodded solemnly, “I want to help, as well, Sir Phantom--like you said, I know what it’s like to want freedom from a tyrannical rule. But recall that this is the past--this is history, and there are some things we cannot change.”

“So we can’t do anything about those villagers?” Danny sighed, “Are the dragon raids why the village is abandoned in the future? Did the people leave, or were they taken as food by the dragons when there was nothing else left to steal?”

Dora and Love didn’t respond, because neither knew the answers to his questions. Finally, Love leaned in and nudged his shoulder with her nose, purring comfortingly.

“You are worried about them,” Dora repeated in English, her voice soft and barely audible above the beat of the pelting rain and the distant rumbles of thunder. “You really do love everyone, even the humans she hates.”

Danny stared into his small fire, nodding slowly. “I’m glad you’re here, Dora--because otherwise, I think both me and Love would do something stupid.”

~~~

“Well, last night I heard someone shout Night Fury--so maybe we’re not so far off from Curious or one of Love’s other kids as we thought,” Danny pointed out, idly chewing on some beef jerky. “They seem to be familiar with her species, at least, to recognize it on sight. I think we should at least look around and see if we can find out more about this place before we go.”

Dora blinked slowly. “You heard someone shout ‘Night Fury’?” She repeated incredulously. Love, however, perked her ears curiously.

“Yeah, when we got spotted--” the half-ghost boy froze, his eyes widening. “Hey wait, I  _did_  hear someone shout that. What the heck? Wasn’t that in like, Latin or something?”

“Old Norse,” Dora corrected, nodding contemplatively, “I believe, Sir Phantom, that Love is not the only one with undeveloped basic ghost powers.”

“What?” Danny blinked in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“There is a power that comes naturally to most ghosts, an ability to understand ‘dead languages’,” the ghostly princess replied. “Most ghosts can speak it as well.”

“Wait, what? How does that work?” Danny asked, an eyebrow lifted skeptically.

“Ghosts are, as you know, ectoplasmic beings--we don’t have physical organs or literal brains like humans do. Our entire beings are formed from our thought processes, molded from ectoplasm that is charged with those thoughts.” Dora began to explain.

“Yeah, I know that. It’s why ghosts manifest in such drastic ways,” Danny commented, looking her up and down, “like how you’re a sixteen-year-old princess because that’s your self-perception.”

“It is the identity I had when I was alive--and the only one strong enough to stick with me when I died, dragon form aside.” Dora nodded, “Love, for another example, still views herself as she was when she was alive, which is why she appears exactly as a living Night Fury would, save the glow.”

Love tilted her head curiously at the pair at the mention of her name, seeming just as lost as Danny was on what exactly Dora was talking about.

The green-skinned ghost continued, “But that is also why she cannot speak a human language, as I can when I’m in dragon form--the thought processes that molded her didn’t include the ability to speak any other language. However, it did allow her to pick up languages faster than she would have when she was alive--this is because the ectoplasm that formed her came from the Ghost Zone, which has been charged with the thoughts of many cultures over time, so the knowledge of the languages of those cultures is somewhat inherent--she just has to access it.”

“Okay, but what does this have to do with me suddenly understanding Old Norse?” Danny asked, his eyebrows furrowed quizzically.

“How did you become a ghost?” Dora returned, her red eyes boring into Danny’s blue ones pointedly.

Danny froze, stiffening. After a moment, he seemed to understand what Dora meant. “I became a half-ghost when I turned on the portal... I got zapped with a billion volts of electricity and ectoplasm at once...” he mumbled, looking down.

“The languages that are most embedded in the ectoplasm of the Ghost Zone are those of extinct cultures. Given how much charged ectoplasm went into opening your stable portal, and I’m surprised you didn’t realize you could understand dead languages earlier.” Dora smiled sympathetically, “I suppose the fact that you still have a human brain might have hindered the ability’s potential to grow, but it’s obvious now that you certainly can understand dead languages--if not with some difficulties.”

“Can you?” Danny blinked, looking up at her.

“Of course. I can speak it too, but I suppose you haven’t had much chance to see me do so, given how little I venture out of my kingdom.” Dora smiled wryly, “But that aside, I believe you wanted to check out the village? I can translate anything you don’t catch.”

“Oh, right,” Danny jumped up, transforming. He looked over to Love. “We won’t be long. Can you stay here?”

Love huffed, but she nodded begrudgingly. Dora wagged a finger at her. “Love, humans aren’t that bad--we won’t get hurt. Besides, both of us are practically invincible, compared to them.”

“Stop worrying so much,” Danny rolled his eyes, “Besides, your hearing is great--you could probably hear us if something happens. And if something happens, we’ll shout for you, promise.”

Love rumbled a response, and Dora nodded. “Okay, that’s a good idea--explore the island and see if you can find anything. But stay invisible, and don’t attack any humans, alright?” She said firmly. Once again, Love nodded while grumbling under her breath.

Dora sighed and turned to Danny, and he nodded to show he was ready. The two of them linked hands and turned invisible, flying toward the village they had seen the previous night.

Danny found himself amazed by his ability to understand other languages--or at least “dead languages”, as Dora had said. He could hear the villagers clearly, something mentally changing the foreign words into something he could understand--there were a few moments when some words didn’t come through at all, but he appreciated even a partial understanding of the language.

He was even more amazed when Dora demonstrated her ability to speak dead languages too--they had decided to play a prank on a funny-looking blonde man with a braided mustache, a crooked nose, and multiple missing limbs. Dora had whispered that the man needed a bath, and he jumped nearly two feet in the air in fright.

“I always wanted to do that,” Dora giggled to herself as they floated up high and watched the man look around with wide, spooked eyes. He started ranting about trolls and something called a “draugr” to some nearby pedestrians, which earned him several eye-rolls, but no one seemed particularly worried about his behavior, so it must have been normal.

It turned out that the villagers were vikings, and Danny found out that their island was called Berk. People were milling about their daily lives--some people were hanging up fish to dry so they could store them later, and others were taking sheep out to graze. They didn’t seem very much like the vikings Danny learned about in school--sure, they were big and burly, and ill-mannered and unhygienic, but they didn’t look particularly brutish or rage-filled.

It was so different from the night before--the anger that he had felt from the people from the previous night came off them in waves, but that had only been after they spotted a dragon. Maybe it was just those guards or night patrol or whatever they were, since the normal townspeople seemed peaceful in comparison.

“Nothing was stolen last night, Stoick,” Danny and Dora paused when a dark-haired man and a big auburn-bearded man passed by underneath them, “the Night Fury didn’t even destroy anything.”

“If it was working alone, I wouldn’t have expected anything to be stolen,” the big bearded man replied gruffly--Danny assumed this guy was Stoick. He seemed rather important, judging by his clothes looking slightly fancier than everyone else’s, and the half-ghost boy frowned when he recognized that the green-colored tunic the man wore had the familiar texture of scales. “Night Furies never steal anything, but they never miss when they fire... it must have had a different reason for being here last night. Maybe it was scouting?”

“It seems likely,” the black-haired man nodded, stroking his own beard. “We should be prepared for a raid tonight.”

“Aye--the clouds have passed and it’s going to be clear. The perfect chance for an attack.” Stoick murmured.

Dora squeezed Danny’s hand, and he grunted softly, letting her lead as they flew back to the cove.

“It sounds like they’re expecting visitors tonight,” Danny remarked when they touched down and returned to the visible spectrum, “I think we should stick around for a while, at least, to see if Curious will be there. Maybe the Night Fury those guys know is Love’s son.”

“I agree, however...” Dora frowned, “knowing that there will be an attack... will you be able to stop yourself from helping, Sir Phantom?”

Danny hesitated. “It’ll be painful if I don’t...” He put his hand to his heart, clutching it weakly, “If I do try to help, I’ll make sure no one sees me, at least.”

Dora’s gaze softened, and she put her hand over his, understanding his implication. “Be careful.”

“I can try.”

~~~

Love rumbled impatiently, glaring at the viking village as they waited. After Dora and Danny had told her what they heard in town, she agreed to wait around for the attack, but she didn’t think much would come in the evening. It was nearly sunrise and now she thought she was right, as the trio had waited through the night and all was quiet. She was anxious to check her old nests, to see if there were still dragons there--her friends promised her that they would go right after the attack and fly through the night if they had to--Danny was already well-rested from having little else to do all day, so he could keep that promise. But now that they had waited all night and there was nothing, Danny had to promise they would go at sunrise if nothing showed up.

Dora, hovering nearby the black dragon in human form, patted her neck gently. “Just a little longer, I know, but... aren’t you even a little excited that there might be a chance that Curious will be here? Those vikings were used to a Night Fury!”

 _“Yes--it could have been one of my children, or it could have been any of the ones who used to be my children,”_  Love murmured, ignoring Dora’s confused stare,  _“I heard from a Flat-faced Fourwing before that there was a Wind Walker in the Six-Eye’s territory. It might be him.”_

“A what? Wait, never mind, I probably wouldn’t know what it was without the manual. But... wait, you had another son?” Dora asked, her eyebrows furrowed.

 _“I had many offspring before the two I now consider my children.”_  Love replied without explaining, looking over at Danny, who was pacing in the sky and watching the village almost anxiously.

“Uh, Love...?” Dora flew in front of her, crossing her arms. She sighed and shook her head. “I really wish you’d tell me more about yourself, sometimes.”

 _“I am seventeen hundred summers old, and my children were younger than the halfling. Did you really think I waited until my dying years to have a clutch?”_  Love rolled her eyes,  _“I had many eggs and many hatchlings--but as soon as they were able to take care of themselves and leave my nest, or become my pack members rather than my nestlings, they were no longer called ‘my children’.”_

Dora blinked, looking startled. “That seems rather harsh.”

 _“Harsh? It is the way of dragons. By the time my fledglings became striplings, they would be off on their own, much like the one who came to this territory, and I would be caring for my next clutch.”_  Love tilted her head quizzically,  _“I believe my kin that came here wanted to challenge the Six-Eye and steal her hive--my pack mates and I always called him Daring.”_

“But--that you don’t still call him your son...” Dora frowned, “isn’t he still your family?”

 _“Your concept of family is that he would always be my ‘son’ regardless of age, correct? Remember that I do not have that concept in my culture, little one,”_  Love purred gently,  _“I will always love the ones hatched from my eggs, but blood relations have little meaning to a species as endangered as mine.”_

Dora paused to think about that. “So, your children--the ones you currently call your children--their father is...?”

 _“One of my previous offspring,”_  Love replied nonchalantly.  _“After my clutch mate died, the only other male Wind Walkers around were my offspring. I was, as far as I know, the mother of all the Wind Walkers that roamed the skies when I was alive--I’ve only had one other female besides my daughter, and she flew off to a distant land to start her own colony.”_

“And without any other Wind Walkers around, I assume that means she didn’t have any children.” Dora remarked, absorbing all the information with a look of slight disgust. It was certainly very, very different from human culture.

 _“No full-blooded Wind Walkers, at least,”_  Love mused. Dora stared at her, about to ask about that when a distant sound reached her range of hearing. The pair stopped moving and both of their ears perked, and a few meters away Danny stopped his anxious pacing.

“Did you guys hear that?” Danny asked, a look of concentration on his face.

Dora nodded, and Love’s ears swiveled around, the nubs on the sides of her face flaring. The three of them fell quiet, listening for the sound again--the sound of a dragon’s roar.

The sound of  _dozens_ of dragons’ roars.

Danny watched in anticipation, turning toward the source of the sound--and sure enough, there was a thick cloud of black blocking out the stars just over the horizon. The dragons quieted as they got closer, apparently wanting to go undetected. He held his breath, and a few minutes later, the dragons got close enough for him to see, and he and Dora gasped in unison at not only the sheer number of them, but at how many different kinds there were too.

“Look at that--that’s a Monstrous Nightmare!” Dora pointed, “And that’s a Deadly Nadder!”

 _“Firecoats and Spike Launchers.”_  Love mused, less focused on the number of them as her narrowed eyes searched the flock for a specific shadowy shape.  _“Clubtails... Twinheads... even Drakins... but no Wind Walkers...”_

Some fliers were faster than others, and got to the island sooner. A Nadder swooped down and grabbed one of the sheep, and just as a Monstrous Nightmare let out the first stream of fire, someone in the village let out a war cry. Suddenly the entire village was swarming out of their hiding spots with their weapons raised--they had been waiting there all night, having anticipated the raid.

A shout from the island alerted the trio that the vikings were readying the catapults. Danny tensed at that, looking between the dragons and the humans indecisively.

Dora grabbed his hand and squeezed it, and he held back, watching as more of the dragon hoard fired at the wooden houses, and the night was lit up in flame.

Danny noticed the viking named Stoick pick up a cart and throw it at a nearby Nadder, and he couldn’t help but be impressed. A man ran up and bowed his head with his hand held in something similar to a salute, and Danny suddenly got the impression that Stoick was the leader of these people. He turned to the man and asked gruffly, “What have we got?”

“Gronckles, Nadders, Zipplebacks,” a roar nearby interrupted the man’s report, and he glanced over briefly before continuing, “oh, and Hork saw a Monstrous Nightmare!”

The man ducked and held up his shield as something exploded nearby them, and a piece of fiery shrapnel landed on Stoick’s shoulder, but he hardly seemed bothered as he brushed it off. “Any Night Furies?” He asked expectantly, sharp eyes glaring around.

“None so far.”

“Good.”

Danny turned his attention away as Stoick ran off with the viking, shouting out orders. Loads were set on fire and hurled at the dragons with the catapults. The angry shouting of the vikings filled the air, mixing with the roars of the dragons. He could hear the humans shouting profanities at the dragons, trying to drive them away from the herds of sheep and the racks of fish. The dragons snarled back angrily, firing streams of molten lava or outright setting themselves aflame.

Danny gritted his teeth. “Dora, what are the dragons saying?”

“...They wish the humans would just let them steal their food, some are complaining about how they’d just take the humans if they weren’t so feisty and hard to carry back to the nest...” Dora bit her lip, eyeing a wailing blue Nadder as it struggled under the net the humans had captured it in, “That one that’s being trapped... she’s wishing that the humans would just end her misery now--it would be better than being eaten by the queen.”

Danny winced, squeezing her hand hard. “...I don’t know who to help.”

“Don’t,” Dora whispered back, following his gaze to the trapped dragon, and then to the roaring fires nearby. A group of short, skinny vikings--they looked like teenagers--were running towards one of the burning houses with buckets of water. The dragons seemed to ignore them, because the Zippleback setting houses on fire just next door went about its business without noticing what they were doing.

Danny shook his head, looking away and back to the center of the village. A Gronckle--the fat, boulder-like dragon--just tackled a viking down, pinning him with its mouth open and its throat lit up red. Dora yanked her half-ghost friend back before he could fly off on impulse. Beside them, Love growled, and Danny found his gaze being drawn to her.

 _“Evil humans... look at them, attacking those dragons so brutally...”_  She narrowed her eyes at the pair Danny had been looking at before, huffing when another human pushed the dragon away and the human stood up, just fine, and rejoined the fray with his ax raised.  _“I feel sorry for the dragons doing this against their will, but the humans have no excuse for their violence.”_

“You’re biased, Love. The humans are only defending themselves,” Dora chided softly.

 _“Not those ones,”_  Love glared at some laughing humans, who smiled maliciously as they tried to behead a Zippleback,  _“am I allowed to hate those ones?”_

“Yes, but...”

A whistling sound interrupted the ghostly princess, and the three of them froze with wide eyes at the familiar sound.

“Night Fury!”

“Get down!”

A blue-purple bolt of lightning-like fire hit one of the catapult towers just as the vikings pulled their shields over their heads, and the whole area lit up white with the flare it gave off. The catapult was up in flames in seconds, completely destroyed.

Danny’s breath caught in his throat--he had never seen Love fire or fly that fast before, but this dragon proved she probably could do that too. He hadn’t even been able to catch the shadow of the creature that fired the bolt. It was awesome and terrifying all at once.

He glanced over at Love, and saw her wide, constricted eyes as they darted through the blackness, searching for the source of the fire. Another whistle-like charge-up alerted them to the Night Fury’s location, and they turned just as it destroyed yet another catapult tower.

 _“Leave them alone, you evil humans!”_  Love and Dora heard someone growl, surprisingly close to them, but apparently the owner of the voice didn’t notice their presence. Love’s head immediately snapped toward the source.

She locked onto the shape in the darkness, and her eyes narrowed as she flared her wings, preparing to take off after it.

“No, Love!” Dora called, letting go of Danny’s hand and darting over to their dragon friend, wrapping her arms around her neck. “We’re not supposed to interfere, remember!”

Danny looked between Love and the village, but seeing that no one had been seriously hurt or worse yet, he opted to help Dora hold Love back. He flew up to her face, putting his hand on her nose between her eyes. “We’ll follow after he leaves,” he assured her, “for now--that sounded really close. Let’s stay invisible just in case, alright?”

Love nodded reluctantly, her eyes not leaving the other Night Fury, and the ghostly trio vanished from sight. Danny and Dora made sure to keep a firm hold on her to make sure she didn’t fly off like she wanted to.

The other Night Fury seemed to be strategizing, because Danny couldn’t spot it again at all, and the telltale whistle of its fire was absent.

“Lone?” He heard Dora mutter, and he turned his head toward her voice below him somewhere.

“What?” He whispered, confused.

“The other dragons--they’re asking where ‘The One Who Walks Alone’ is,” Dora muttered, and Danny glanced over at the dragons flying off with whatever fish and sheep they could steal. “I think that’s the Night Fury.”

Love nodded beneath his hand to confirm her suspicions, and she thought to herself in wonder,  _Why do they call him ‘He Who Stands Alone’?_

“For some reason they’re asking why he came to help them again,” Dora continued, “and if he’s already gone back.”

Love rumbled softly, shaking her head--she was still watching the other Night Fury, and it hadn’t left yet. It was circling the island, searching for something. Possibly a new target. She could hear his quiet screeches--grumbles about how humans should stop hurting dragons, how they were dumb and evil and scary, and how he would stop them.

Danny turned his gaze back to the village, noticing some commotion as one of the teenage vikings ran through the clamor carting some sort of wagon with him. The other vikings were yelling at him to get back inside. Danny didn’t recognize him--he was smaller than the other teenagers, and he didn’t look like one of the teens who were putting out fires earlier. He watched as the small viking ran to a darker part of the island, untouched by the fire and chaos, and wondered if maybe he was trying to get to safety and take shelter there.

And then he stopped and opened his wagon thing to reveal a strange complex device that looked like a hybrid between a crossbow and a slingshot. Then he just stood there for a while, gripping the handles of the device and looking at the sky frantically.

What the heck was he doing?

He suddenly jolted to attention, and Danny heard why: the Night Fury--Lone--was screeching in success as he found his next target, the catapult  _right in front of the boy’s line of vision_.

A plasma bolt lit up the sky and the catapult exploded in blue-red-orange-white fireworks. Danny saw the boy’s determined face, set in concentration, as he fired his own device toward the shadow that swooped over the flames. The boy was thrown back by the backlash of pulling the trigger, and something whistled through the air.

It spun for a few seconds before it made contact with the dragon and twin screeches of pain and terror cut through the night.

One of them was Lone’s--and before either ghostly teenager could stop it, the other came out of Love.

The dragon, still under the effects of gravity and the momentum from his flight but unable to open his wings and control himself, rocketed toward the forest on the other side of the island. Danny had to scramble to grab onto Love as she darted off after him.

“Love! Stop!” Dora yelped, trying to hang on as well.

“Love, don’t! Remember--no interfering?!” Danny shouted frantically, trying to pull her back physically--to little avail.

Love didn’t listen to them, screeching in panic as she flew onward faster.

 _“That’s Curious, I know it is--I heard him, he’s hurt he’s in pain_ he’s hurt _\--I heard him, I have to help him--my hatchling my runt my Curious!”_

She had to find her baby--nothing else mattered right now but making sure he was alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be honest I love language barriers, but having done Danny and Love’s language barrier for a while now, it’s actually a bit frustrating. Thus, I used something of a “Ghost Speak” headcanon to deal with Danny and Norse--he’s not perfect so there’s still some things to learn, but it saves everyone the trouble of _most_ of the language barrier.
> 
> As fun as it would have been for Danny to learn Norse the hard way, I know from experience that learning a language is hard, and it takes time and dedication and practice, which isn’t exactly something Danny has time for. He doesn’t have the environment needed to properly learn it in a short time--his trips to the past will be short, and of course he won’t have a lot of interaction with the vikings. So, I made the decision to have him understand Norse this way--I hope it’s not too much of a cop out!
> 
> Anyway, now we’ve reached the start of the actual HTTYD events, hopefully it will be interesting without being a carbon copy of the movie. We get to see our first glimpses of Hiccup and the dragon that turns out to be Toothless! (I was actually a little disappointed at the lack of response when I first introduced “Curious”... w-was it not obvious enough that it was Toothless?)
> 
> Again, I borrowed some species names from HtBaG! (Just a small note here uwu)
> 
> Till next time~


	8. Hiccup the Confusing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of this chapter goes through the movie without a lot of interaction from Danny’s side of the story, but hopefully the different perspectives and slight tweaks with the ghosts’ involvement make it more interesting. I think there will be one or two more chapters of stuff with the movie events, but I don’t plan on going through the entire movie--just enough to develop Love’s character some more. Anyway, enjoy!

“Love,  _stop_!” Dora screamed, pulling the Night Fury back by the neck with Danny’s help.

Danny shouted over the wind, “It’s still dark, we have no idea where he landed, you’re going to overshoot him if you don’t slow down!”

Love’s wings shot out, catching the air and jerking her body to a stop, which caused the two teenage ghosts to let go in surprise and drop their invisibility. Their continued momentum had them tumbling through the air for a few seconds before they righted themselves. Seeing that her friends were visible again, Love also dropped her invisibility, her eyes darting around the forest below.

Dora gathered herself first, used to ignoring physics, and flew back to Love before she could shoot off in a panic again. “Love, Love, calm down,” she murmured soothingly, stroking her hand down the nubs on Love’s neck, which were flaring in sync with her nostrils as she hyperventilated. She didn’t actually need to breathe, but if it helped, Dora wasn’t going to stop her.

Danny shook his head, clearing himself of the slight daze of being thrown and letting the adrenaline from the flight wash away. “What’s she saying?” He asked, joining the pair.

“Basically? ‘My baby, my baby, my baby’.” Dora grimaced, “Love, we’ll find him, but Sir Phantom is right, you need to slow down or you’ll miss him.”

Love nodded, finally calming down, still searching the forest below. She crooned in worry.

“He could be at the cove,” Dora nodded, “we’ll check there.”

Danny looked down too, his ghostly night vision allowing him to catch the faint outlines of the trees. “I could search the rest of the forest and meet you there if you want. Just to be sure.” He looked up at his friends, “But--Love, what are you going to do even if you did find him? We can’t interfere, remember?”

Love shook her head, whimpering.

“Love, we can’t let you interfere. Curious gave you that warning for a reason,” Dora sighed, her hand stopping but remaining on Love’s neck, “we can go see if he’s okay but we can’t do anything.”

The dragon huffed in frustration, narrowing her eyes. Danny sighed and patted her head. “Okay, no splitting up because I get the feeling you’ll do something anyway if both of us can’t hold you back. Come on, let’s go look for Curious.”

The trio nodded in agreement to that, gliding slowly over the trees. The sun started to peak over the horizon, and Danny bit his lip, flying over to flank Love opposite of Dora. “Sun’s coming up,” the boy bit his lip, “I think we should go invisible again.”

Dora nodded, and Love sighed and reluctantly let them put their hands on her neck, the three of them once again falling out of the visible spectrum.

~~~

The cove was empty, so the group decided to circle the area to see if they could find anything. Love was whining in worry the whole time, looking around frantically. She was only calmed by Danny and Dora’s soft murmurs, their hands never leaving her neck.

 _“I know you are worried, little ones, but Curious--he was hurt, I saw it, I felt it...”_  Love mumbled more to herself than to her companions,  _“That human hurt him, that human hurt him...”_

“He’ll be fine, Love,” Danny didn’t need Dora to translate to know what she was whimpering about, “we saw him in the future, remember? Whatever happened to him, he’ll live, okay?”

Love nodded, glancing at him briefly--but in that split moment, the scent of blood reached her nostrils and her panic escalated again.

 _“I smell him!”_  She cried out, swooping down closer to the ground to see if she could pinpoint the scent.

Danny yelped, hurrying so he could keep his hand connected to the dragon. “Whoa! What, what’d you find?”

“How can you be sure that’s him?” Dora asked, her hand tightening its grip on one of the nubs on Love’s neck so she wouldn’t accidentally lose her.

 _“Who else could it be?”_  Love replied desperately, her eyes darting around wildly. Finally, she spotted a dark shape against the green ground through the branches.  _“There!”_

"He’s unconscious...” Danny frowned, the three of them simultaneously dropping their invisibility as they landed next to the small black dragon. Love dashed over immediately, whimpering as she nudged the younger dragon frantically.

 _“Curious? Curious, my hatchling, oh--please be okay...”_  Love nuzzled him gently,  _“Oh, he’s so young... so, so young--younger than last time...”_

Dora hung back near a tree, and Danny stepped forward in concern, weaving around a large boulder. He looked at the length of the dragon just as Love was doing now, tugging gently at the ropes restraining him.

“Love,” Dora put her hand out, touching the closest part of Love she could reach. She brushed her fingers against her friend’s leg, temporarily drawing her attention. “Don’t--you can’t free him. That’s interfering.”

 _“But--I can’t just...”_  Love shook her head, turning back and loosening the ropes some more--one wing was able to unfold, but she couldn’t get the restraints untangled from the rest of the limbs.

Danny stepped around her, frowning. “His tail...” he murmured, his eyes landing on the appendage--half the tail fin had been cut cleanly off, probably from the force of the bolas spinning, but it was bleeding.

Love made a startled sound when she noticed too, her eyes wide and constricted. She leaned her head over, licking at the wound gently.

 _“Oh, my Curious... no... this--this can’t be...”_  she whimpered,  _“The only blessing is that you cannot feel this pain in your sleep...”_

“Love,” Dora sighed, “he’ll be alright, his tail isn’t bleeding that much...”

"The licking thing will help clot the blood, I think, so I don’t think he’ll bleed to death from that or even those other small wounds,” Danny commented, “but is this alright? I mean, won’t he notice his wounds are...”

 _“That’s not the problem,”_  Love warbled softly, tears coming to her eyes,  _“it’s his tail--his tail is gone.”_

Danny stopped, a little startled by the protest and pain in her voice. “Dora, what did she say?”

“She’s not worried about the bleeding, she’s... worried about his tail...” Dora translated, frowning. “Love, why is half of his tail being gone such a bad thing?”

_“Because! He--he won’t be able to...”_

A distant voice cut off her response, as the three ghosts’s ears all perked and their heads snapped toward the direction the voice was coming from.

“--lose their knife or mug.... No, not me, I manage to lose  _an entire dragon_?”

“Someone’s coming!” Danny gasped, “Quick, guys, in the air!” He motioned upward, jumping and hovering in place. Love looked back at Curious, then at Danny, her eyes begging him to let her stay and be with her child, to protect him. “Love, come on! I know you want to stay, but we shouldn’t--stopping whoever that is from finding Curious is interfering!”

Dora nodded, floating up into the air beside them. “We’ll stay and watch, but you need to get in the air, Love. You’re huge, you don’t have a handle on intangibility as well as we do yet, and you’re emotional, which makes it harder to control. So we need to get up there.”

Love took one last look at Curious, then sighed and reluctantly spread her wings, joining them with a windless flap. They turned invisible and got high enough into the air to not be heard if they needed to talk.

They looked down just in time to see a boy coming up the hill on the opposite side of where they had been before. He gasped in fright and ducked down again upon seeing the fallen Night Fury, before slowly peeking over the edge with wide, shocked eyes.

Danny recognized him as the scrawny teenager who had shot the weird catapult thing. The auburn-haired boy remained still in disbelief for a moment, then he gathered his wits and clumsily searched his furry brown vest for something--Love tensed when she saw that he had brought out a knife.

The boy gripped the knife in two trembling hands and took a few deep, slightly panicked breaths to steady himself. He steeled his face and stumbled as stealthily as he could down the hill, nearly tripping over his own foot as he made his way to hide behind one of the boulders.

Making sure the Night Fury was still unconscious, he took another loud breath before he came out from behind the boulder, taking small, cautious steps toward the beast.

“Oh, wow,” he breathed in awe, “I-I--I did it.” He held out his hands as if welcoming his success into his arms, “Oh, I did it--this, this fixes everything!”

He looked around as if he could show someone else, running his hand through his hair. Love narrowed her eyes at him.

 _“Him... this is the human who hurt my child?”_  She hissed, and Dora, though invisible, put a placating hand on her neck.

“Yes!” The boy came forward, his face lit up as he was obviously imagining the reaction he would get from his village. He lifted his leg to rest it atop the dragon, continuing in his triumphant tirade, “I have brought down this mighty beast--!”

Curious groaned in pain and shifted his leg, pushing the boy off. He yelped and stumbled back into the boulder, his eyes wide and panicked and his heart beating a hundred times a second. His breathing became shallow as he realized the dragon wasn’t entirely unconscious, and he quickly held out his small knife in defense.

The dragon breathed heavily, as if that one movement had taken a lot out of him. The boy took a cautious step closer, his other hand coming up to steady the one holding the knife before he took another step.

Curious opened his eyes--they were thin in fear, scared as he realized he wasn’t alone and that his company wasn’t exactly the friendly type. The boy’s own green eyes widened upon seeing those eyes, and his lips tightened as he forced himself to look away, glancing back at his knife before returning his gaze to the dragon’s body.

Love couldn’t help but feel her heart constrict when she and the boy both looked back at Curious’ eyes, because she saw the same child she left when she died, scared and unable to move or fight back. Dora pressed her hand against Love even harder, sensing that Love wanted to swoop down there and stop the boy.

The boy took a few deep breaths, and Danny stared at him, reading his expression--he looked reluctant, he kept looking back at Curious’ eyes and seeing the emotion in them--it was obvious he had never looked into a dragon’s soulful eyes before. Danny had seen Love’s many times, and he remembered the sad look he had seen in an older Curious, but something about Curious’ eyes now were lost and frightened and so, so young.

A soft, barely audible wheeze slipped from Curious’ throat as he lifted his head.  _“You...”_

The boy steeled his face, trying to look angry and determined, but his hands were still shaking so badly. “I’m going to kill you, dragon,” he muttered, trying to convince himself more than tell the dragon, “I’m gonna cut out your heart and take it to my father.” He took a deep breath, his entire body heaving, his shoulders tense. He turned the knife in his grip, pointing it downward. “I am a viking,” he whispered, then opened his eyes wide to glare at the dragon, clenching his fists tight as he swung one out to his side and shouted, “I’m a  _viking_!”

He panted nervously, closing his eyes and clutching the knife with both hands again, opening his eyes as he raised it above his head.

Curious gave him a halfhearted glare, his gaze never once leaving his to-be-killer.  _“You humans are all the same.”_

 _“Curious...!”_  Panic was rising in Love’s chest, and she nearly roared to stop the boy, but she felt Danny’s hand under her jaw, keeping her from opening her mouth.

“No, wait, look,” Danny murmured seriously, and Love forced herself still, only a whimper escaping.

The boy opened one eye, looking one last time at Curious’. The fear was still there, but then there was resignation now too.

 _“...Looks like I was meant to die this way after all,”_  he whispered to himself,  _“at the hands of an evil human, just like Mom.”_

Tears sprung to Love’s eyes again--because Curious  _remembered_. Curious remembered her, and obviously the night of her death haunted him.

The viking teen bit his lip, opening both eyes as he stared into Curious’. Curious breathed heavily, realizing that this would be his end, that these would be his last breaths--and finally, he closed his eyes, letting his head fall lax.

_“Just do it already...”_

The boy squeezed his eyes shut, trying to convince himself it would be easier if he couldn’t see the dragon, but he couldn’t stop seeing those frightened green orbs. He lifted his knife to bring it down, but then he hesitated, and when he tried again, he groaned in frustration and let the tension release from his arms.

He held his arms over his bowed head, his teeth gritted with his indecision. He shook his head, then let his arms fall to his sides, running his hand down his face. He looked down at his knife guiltily, then to Curious’ resigned face. His eyes trailed over the ropes, his eyebrows lowering as remorse overcame his expression and he took a step back.

“I did this...” He whispered, his voice full of regret.

He turned away, and Danny held his breath, wondering if the boy would run, but then he turned back, looking down at his knife again. Danny’s pulse quickened at the thought that the boy had changed his mind and that he would kill the young dragon.

He slowly and quietly stepped back to the dragon, kneeling beside him, the knife pointed toward his body...

Love watched with wide eyes as the human child gripped the ropes and sawed through them with the knife.

 _“He’s... he’s helping Curious?”_  She whispered in disbelief.

Beside her, Dora gasped--and though no one could see it, her eyes were wide in recognition.

Curious’ eyes snapped open, as shocked as his ghostly mother was. His gaze shifted to the boy, wide and suspicious and panicked. He felt his legs come free, and he remained completely still, waiting to make sure all the restraints were cut first.

And then when he felt the last rope snap, he quickly rolled to his feet and lunged at the boy, roaring ferociously,  _“Why?! Is this some kind of trick?!”_

“He’s confused,” Dora breathed. “He--he doesn’t trust humans... yet...”

“Yet?” Danny echoed, his eyes wide as he fought every urge to fly down and save the boy.

The boy was gasping in terror, and the Night Fury was growling as he leaned closer, his lips pulled back and baring his teeth threateningly. The boy struggled weakly, trying to back away, to get out from under the heavy paw pressing down on his chest, and Danny stared in shock because he remembered how he met Love--the boy’s reaction was exactly the same.

The dragon glared, searching the boy’s eyes for any sign of deceit--but all he saw was fear and panic, the desperate wish to live, and the unyielding will to survive. He could hear the boy’s heartbeat, rapid and practically screaming,  _“oh gods I’m going to die!”_

 _“You...”_  Curious growled, spreading his wings threateningly as the boy trembled beneath him,  _“you let me go... so I’ll spare you.”_ He opened his mouth, taking a deep breath and taking his paw off the boy’s chest as he reared back. He stomped the ground as he roared angrily into the boy’s face,  _“Don’t make me regret it!”_

And with that, he dashed away, throwing up dust in his wake.  _“Leave me alone!”_  He roared,  _“Don’t come back!”_

Love gasped and followed after him, watching in worry as he spread his wings and tried to fly, only to crash uncontrollably into a rocky formation.

_“Ow! What--what happened--why can’t I--!”_

“Love!” Dora hissed, not leaving her side as they followed after Curious, who kept screeching in pain as he tried to fly and kept crashing into trees and rocks.

 _“I have to watch over him--he’s... he’s alive, miraculously,”_  Love shook her head,  _“but he won’t be for much longer, at this rate.”_

“What?! Why?” Dora asked in panic, not noticing that Danny had stayed behind.

 _“He can’t_ fly _! He won’t be able to get away from the rest of the humans if he can’t_ fly _!”_  Love cried,  _“He’s free now, but he can’t_ fly _.”_

“He’ll be fine!” Dora shouted back at her, “Love, if you’re planning on trying to help him, please...”

_“No--I know, don’t interfere, but...”_

“Love,  _trust me_ \--he’ll be  _fine_.”

Love glanced next to her, where Dora’s voice was, and Dora flashed into visibility for a brief moment. Love saw the determination in her eyes--the surety--and growled softly,  _“Okay. I’ll trust you.”_

“Good. So don’t do anything.”

~~~

Danny floated down to ground level, looking over his shoulder to where Curious had run off. He heard Love and Dora following, and he had a pretty good idea of where Curious was going, so he turned back to look at the scrawny viking.

The brunet had slumped against a boulder, his face set in fright, shock, and disbelief that he had gotten out of this alive. He looked spooked, like he had been sure he was going to die under that Night Fury’s paw.

He stood up after letting out a shuddering breath, staring in Curious’ direction blankly, before he turned and tried to make his way back to the village. Danny grinned and snickered when, after three steps, the boy collapsed to his knees and fell forward in a dead faint.

Danny returned to visibility and crouched beside the boy, turning him over. He looked at the boy’s clothes--they were relatively thick, and the boy didn’t look cold despite wearing only two layers, so he must have been used to the weather. His hair was messy but straight, his nose was round, and he had a light spattering of freckles. He looked like a normal kid--he didn’t look anything like how Danny would have imagined a viking. Most of all, though, he was young--maybe fourteen or fifteen--no older than Danny himself.

“You spared him,” he muttered thoughtfully. “I thought vikings were all angry and stuff... I mean, I get that you’re a kid and you’ve probably never killed anything before, but...”

He poked at the boy’s skinny arm, leaning his head on his palm. “You really wanted to kill Curious... and then you really didn’t. Why?”

Danny sat contemplatively beside the boy for a long time, trying to figure him out. He remembered the look of determination on the boy’s face from the night before, the elation and excitement at the thought of having downed the Night Fury that apparently terrorized his village. But then there was sympathy--the boy had looked into Curious’ eyes and something had resonated with him, and he had let Curious go.

The force with which he had talked to himself, shouting “I am a viking!” as if he needed validation... it echoed in Danny’s mind with angry loneliness now, and his eyebrows raised as he realized why.

“...You’re an outcast, huh,” Danny glanced at the unconscious boy’s face, “no one likes you and you don’t have friends and you just want to fit in. You want so badly to fit in, don’t you...”

He knew what it felt like to want something so badly that he ignored the little voice in his head that said it was all wrong. He remembered wanting to fit in with all the normal kids, to pretend he didn’t have powers or he wasn’t the freak they accused him of being, and he remembered doing anything in his power to achieve that petty goal. He had ditched the two people who really cared about him to hang out with the beautiful and the strong, and he had said things to his friends that had hurt them in ways he had never wanted to. He had known it was wrong, and yet he had done it anyway--he was a dumb teenager after all.

This kid... he seemed like he was the same. In a village full of big, buff vikings, Danny could easily see him being bullied and pushed around for how scrawny he was, and he had seen the resentment in the boy’s eyes. He had had something to prove--he had been about to kill a beautiful living being to make his point, to try to fit in.

But he had stopped. Danny couldn’t help but think the boy was kinder than he ever was, because he had stopped and  _listened_  to the voice in his head that said what he was doing was wrong.

He wasn’t all that bad, for a viking.

Danny shook his head and smiled to himself, getting up and flying off toward the cove. He’d come back and check on the boy later, he decided.

When he got back to the cove, he saw Curious there, just as he suspected--the young Night Fury had curled up near the pond, licking his wounds. Careful not to be seen, Danny kept to the tree line, looking around for his friends.

He caught sight of Dora’s glow not too far away and made his way toward her. She was standing in the shadow on a tree, looking down at Curious in the cove with one hand out to her side, resting on something he couldn’t see. That must have been Love.

“Hey,” Danny called quietly, stopping next to Dora. He heard Love croon softly in greeting, and he grinned reassuringly to assuage her worries. “I’m okay, I was just checking up on that kid. He’s fine too by the way.”

Love grumbled wonderingly in response.

“I don’t know why he saved your son, Love,” Dora answered softly, “but... like we keep telling you. Not all humans are bad.”

“Hey, is Curious gonna be okay?” Danny looked down at the black dragon, “He didn’t look like he was flying too well earlier.”

“According to Love, he can’t fly anymore. His tail is ‘broken’,” Dora informed him remorsefully. “We saw him trying to fly out of here earlier, but the walls are too high. He gave up a few minutes ago and now he’s... well, he’s trying to recover himself slowly.”

Danny frowned, watching as the young Night Fury finished cleaning himself of blood and began inspecting his tail with a glare. “Do you think that’s why we saw him in this place in the future?” He asked, “He must have never been able to get out...”

Dora’s hand moved as Love shook her head and rumbled quietly in response. “He’s small now, but in a few dozen decades he should have been big enough to just jump out on his own,” she translated, “Love says that the Wind Walker you two met in the future was certainly big enough to have escaped on his own. He stayed there for a reason.”

“Well, he doesn’t look too happy to be staying here now,” Danny commented, pointing to where Curious had begun pacing the ground and glaring at the walls.

Love sighed with an obvious note of depression, wishing she could do something more than watch.

“Look, Love, I think he’ll be fine in there for a while. Let’s go find a place to camp out and come check back on him later.” Danny suggested, yawning. “I’ve been up all night worrying about that village getting attacked and all, and I know you don’t need sleep but  _I_  do, and our camping spot is now occupied by Curious. So...”

“If you want, I can stay here and watch him,” Dora offered, stroking Love’s invisible neck reassuringly, “I’ll come get you if anything happens to him before you get back.”

Love warbled hesitantly before she nodded and they could hear her shifting. “Turn intangible before touching her, Sir Phantom--it was the only way she could hide without knocking over some trees,” the ghostly princess motioned for Danny to switch places with her, and he did as she said, putting his hand on his friend’s neck as Dora stepped back.

“Love, you explored the island the other day, right? Know any clearings nearby?” Danny asked, and he felt Love nodding. “Cool. Let’s go.”

Love took one last glance at Curious, silently promising that she would be back to watch over him, before she led the way to the nearest clearing.

~~~

“He wore himself out and fell asleep for today,” Dora explained when she found Love and Danny at the new campsite.

It had been several hours since they started watching Curious in the cove, but not much had changed--Curious would pace and mutter to himself about how confusing humans were or how unlucky he was, try to fly out, fall, and repeat the process. Danny had been asleep for most of the time, exhausted from the previous night’s events, and Love didn’t leave his side even as she worried about her son--Curious was relatively safe in the cove, but Danny was more vulnerable out in the forest where other creatures roamed. Danny, currently in human form, was smaller and more fragile than Curious, who at least had his fire and thick dragon hide to protect him, even if he couldn’t fly.

 _“Is he alright?”_  Love crooned toward the ghostly princess, absently preening Danny’s hair,  _“He didn’t hurt himself more when he tried to fly again, did he?”_

“No, he looks like he’s used to falling from those small heights by now,” Dora smiled sympathetically, going to sit next to her friends. “He hasn’t broken a bone or anything, at least.”

Love sighed, laying her head down and curling up a little tighter around Danny.  _“I wish I could just get him out of there myself...”_

Dora leaned against Love’s shoulder, shaking her head. “No, you must leave him--trust me, Love... he’ll be alright.”

 _“Why? Why are you so_ sure _?”_  Love asked despondently.

“Because I know what happens next.”

Love lifted her head abruptly and stared at the green-skinned girl in shock. Dora simply smiled enigmatically and asked, “If I tell you, will you promise to stay back?”

The Night Fury queen nodded slowly, confused and curious. Dora laughed softly. “Curious is the Night Fury in my books--he’ll fly again, with the help of the one who tames him, and go on to do great things. He’ll end the greedy Lava Dweller’s rule, and go on to best a Blizzard Breather and become a king.” The ghostly princess absently reached over and stroked Danny’s hair gingerly, her gaze gentle and fond. “And he’ll do it all beside the human boy who freed him--they’ll become best friends and partners, and together they unite the world of dragons and humans. Together they change history.”

Love frowned and shook her head in disbelief.  _“That--that’s impossible. That human can’t... wouldn’t...”_

“You don’t believe me, still?” Dora smiled wanly, “I suppose you’ll see for yourself, then.”

~~~

The ghostly trio watched Curious for most of the day after Danny woke up, and Danny was frankly getting bored of watching Curious do the same thing over and over. Love seemed contemplative as she watched, though Danny had only been able to tell once night fell and she let her invisibility drop.

“Love, I know you’re worried about Curious, but didn’t you want to check on your other kid... or kids, too?” Danny asked, flopping down on the ground. Love mumbled a response, but Danny couldn’t understand it--he guessed it was something about wanting to be absolutely sure Curious was okay before they left.

It was early morning--the sun hadn’t broken the horizon yet. He had only been up for a short time, mostly because doing nothing but sleep and pace and watch Curious made him restless, but of course Love hadn’t moved from her spot all night. She seemed content to watch Curious--and Dora, who took turns with Love to watch over both Curious and Danny, had finally gotten bored and opted to sleep for once. Ghosts didn’t need sleep, as she often said, but sometimes they could if they wanted to, especially if they wanted to have dreams or recover energy faster.

Idly Danny wondered if being away from the Ghost Zone so long made his two friends more tired than normal, but he couldn’t really tell because neither of them complained. Danny sighed, taking the Infi-map out of his backpack and looking over it--there weren’t any natural portals forming nearby, so they’d still be stuck in this time era regardless if they needed to head back or not.

“Wonder how much time has passed back home... I really hope Clockwork’s still got my back on that one.” Danny muttered, rolling up the map again and tucking it away. He stood up and stretched, looking over at Love. “Hey, I’m going to go check out that village again.”

Love glanced over at him, narrowing her eyes. She growled slightly distrustfully.

“It’s not like I’m going to talk to them, I’m just going to check stuff out!” Danny complained, “Why are you so adamant about distrusting humans? Geez, did you forget I’m one too?” Love snorted, looking back to the cove and watching as Curious groaned and stretched, waking up as the sun began to turn the sky gray. Danny whined, “I’m bored, Love! You can do your overprotective mother thing without me here, but I need to, y’know, take a flight or something. Not like you can stop me, anyhow.”

Love glared halfheartedly at him, and he rolled his eyes. “I’ll be back soon, tell Dora where I am if she wakes up before I get back.” He waved, jumping into the air. “I doubt anything will happen, but if it makes you feel better, I’ll give a shout if I need help.”

Love reluctantly complied, settling down again and laying down her head, turning invisible as the light broke through the clouds above. Danny shook his head and flew off, also cloaking himself, looking down at the village for anything interesting.

There were people milling about the roads, carrying woven baskets and sacks to the docks, preparing boats like they were going to use them soon. He spotted an odd cage dome in the shadow of the cliff, and it looked like there were some people in it, so he flew towards it curiously.

He was surprised to see the group of teenagers from before, including the scrawny boy who had shot down--and then freed--Curious. The teens were standing in a line and they all had weapons, and the peg-legged hook-handed viking Danny and Dora had played a prank on before was pacing in front of them.

“--just a few of the many species you will learn to fight.”

Was this some sort of school? Normally Danny hated school, but these were vikings--what did vikings even learn in school? Did it have something to do with fighting, if their weapons were any indication?

Interest piqued, Danny flew closer and leaned on one of the cage bars, studying each teenager--there was a pair of mischievous-looking twins, a pretty and determined-looking blonde, a big-bodied blond boy, an arrogant-looking black-haired boy, and of course, the scrawny brunet. The brunet looked like he could barely lift the ax in his arms, and judging from his face, it seemed like he didn’t want to be there at all.

Distracted by his observations, he missed what the apparent teacher was saying, but he turned his attention back when the black-haired boy shouted, “Whoa, whoa, wait, aren’t you going to teach us first?!”

The peg-legged viking smiled cheekily as he put his hand on a lever next to one of the thick-looking iron doors in the arena. “I believe in learning on the job!” He chirped, pushing the lever down. The log keeping the iron doors shut was lifted, and the doors burst open.

Danny gaped as an angry-looking brown Gronckle flew out of the doors, wings flapping furiously. It snarled as it charged, and the teens scattered.

“What the heck kind of school is this?” He muttered quietly under his breath. He really hoped those teens and the dragon would be alright. Were the kids supposed to kill the dragon somehow? That would be unfortunate--Danny was pretty sure he’d step in if anything that bad happened, and Dora and Love weren’t there to stop him.

He watched as the instructor quizzed the kids while they ran around and gave them tips about the dragon and how to survive against one. The half-ghost teen winced every time a fireball came too close to hitting one of the viking kids. It was actually entertaining to see them try fending for themselves--until the end, when the auburn-haired boy lost his shield after a fireball hit it and the Gronckle still chased after him.

Danny gasped and phased through the bars as the peg-legged viking shouted “Hiccup!” and both simultaneously started toward the scrawny teenager as fast as they could. The Gronckle growled and opened its mouth, the back of its throat lighting up gold-red as it prepared to fire. The boy--Hiccup, Danny guessed--hyperventilated and squeezed his eyes shut, turning his head away in fear as he was once again faced with death by dragon fire for the second time in two days.

The dragon’s eyes, constricted in anger, constricted even more when Danny’s cold ghostly presence came close enough for it to smell, and it jerked its head up with a slight whimper, searching for the source of the scent. It fired, trying to hit Danny in its panic, but its shot missed the ghost by an inch and hit the wall. Danny nearly yelped at how close the shot came, but he bit his tongue, stopping just as the older viking got close enough to snag the dragon’s mouth with his hook, pulling it away from the small boy. Danny sighed in relief, glad that no one had gotten hurt.

The man wrestled with the Gronckle for a bit before he managed to throw it back in its cage, muttering insults at it before he pulled the lever and secured the cage door. “You’ll get another chance, don’t you worry,” he rolled his eyes at the door and the dragon behind it, then turned and lumbered back toward the teen vikings.

“Remember, a dragon will always,” he paused to lean in and level Hiccup with a serious glare as he continued, “-- _always_... go for the kill.”

With that, he dragged Hiccup to his feet by the arm, then walked toward the other vikings to dismiss the class.

Hiccup’s eyebrows furrowed as he turned to look at the scorched wall behind him, a look of confusion clear on his face. Danny blinked, coming closer to him curiously. He heard the boy mutter to himself, “A dragon will always go for the kill...? But...”

Hiccup turned to look as the rest of the teenagers filed out of the arena, biting his lip as he trailed after them in a slight daze. As soon as the gate shut behind him, he looked around before turning and running off in the other direction, away from where the rest of the kids were heading.

Danny hummed quietly in amusement as he followed from the air. “Now where are you off to...”

He tailed Hiccup through the forest, and it was completely unsurprising to see Hiccup return to the place where he had freed Curious. The auburn-haired boy crouched by the discarded ropes, picking up one of the rocks used as a weight for the bola.

“A dragon always goes for the kill,” he repeated to himself in wonder, weighing the rock in one hand as he held the rope with his other, “so why didn’t  _you_?”

Danny smiled as Hiccup contemplated the odd dragon who had spared him, shaking his head as he flew ahead. He glanced over his shoulder to see that Hiccup had put down the broken bola and begun to trek through the forest in the direction he had seen the Night Fury go.

"He really isn’t a bad guy, if he’s this concerned,” Danny thought out loud, landing in the last place he saw Love. “Hey, Love, you there?”

A soft purr was his response, and he made his way over to its source, putting out his hand to touch an invisible mass. “Don’t get angry, but it looks like that boy is coming back.” Love made an inquiring hum, and Danny explained, “The boy who freed Curious. He’s coming this way.”

Love’s head lifted in alert, looking down at the cove. Curious was pacing, psyching himself up for another attempt to fly over the walls, and in a small gap in the rocks, the ghostly pair spotted the auburn-haired boy peeking out and looking around.

Danny kept his hand on Love’s side, and he could feel Love’s anxiousness coming off her in waves. He held his breath in anticipation, watching to see what Hiccup would do.

~~~

Lone grumbled to himself,  _“Stupid tail, stupid cove, stupid human who hurt me...”_

His tail whipped angrily behind him as he glared up at the edge of the cove walls.  _“Stupid island! I’ll get out of here, go back to the others and... no, I’ll burn down that stupid village first,”_  he muttered to himself, spreading his wings as he crouched, his muscles tense as he prepared to charge,  _“then I’ll go make sure everyone else is okay.”_

His resolve set, he sprung forward in a powerful leap over the pond, catching the wind beneath his wings and clawing frantically at the rocky walls in an attempt to find purchase. The wind escaped though, and the stone was too smooth, so he slipped, roaring in frustration as he twisted around and tried to recover before he hit the water. He caught enough air to glide safely down to the grass on the other side of the pond and land clumsily.

 _“Come on, I am a Wind Walker!”_  He growled to himself, charging forward at a different wall, using a fallen log as leverage to get some height as he jumped and spread his wings again.  _“I am the fastest dragon in that hoard, I am the best flier, so why--!”_

He threw out his paws to stop himself from crashing face first into the wall, pushing off it to change direction. His claws dug into the ground and he skidded as he landed, glaring up at the sky.

 _“Are you abandoning me, wind?”_  The young Wind Walker growled, launching upward in an attempt at a vertical take-off, but he couldn’t reach high enough to grab the edge of the wall.  _“I just want to go home! I want to go back! I want to fly!”_

He tried again, but this time he landed awkwardly and took a moment to clear his daze, shaking himself off. He cried out in frustration, stomping at the ground.

 _“It’s been two days! Two sunrises! I have not eaten, I am hungry! I miss my friends, I--”_  Lone gritted his teeth, pacing in an attempt to get rid of the tears threatening to escape his eyes,  _“I’m scared! Oh, winds, what if the humans find me? I can’t escape, not like this. I’m scared! Wind, why won’t you help me escape?! Let me fly!”_

He spat plasma at the ground angrily when not even a single breeze answered him, panting as the adrenaline rush began to leave him. In one last desperate attempt, he ran forward and tried to fly once more, but his tail curled forward limply instead of listening to him, and that changed his direction before he meant to. He ended up crashing painfully on the ground, squeezing his eyes shut to keep the dust out as it flew up at his disturbance.

He groaned in pain and breathed heavily, opening his eyes a slit to catch some movement in front of him--it was accompanied by the sound of a splash, and his ears perked in interest. He lifted his head, pushing himself weakly forward, looking into the pond.

 _“Food...?”_  His nostrils flared hungrily, and he stared longingly at the two fish he saw swimming about in the water. He made a desperate snap at them, but they were too quick and he was too tired to effectively hunt. The water did feel nice on his face, though. He pulled his head out of the water and sighed, letting the wet droplets slide off his scales and laying his head down in defeat.

_“This is so unfair.”_

He stared despondently ahead, thinking about how cruel fate was, to let him live yet leave him crippled. A human, of all things, had spared him, yet while he was stuck here, he was sure he was going to die--if not of starvation, it would be because of his close proximity to that human settlement. They would probably kill him if they found him here.

A small clinking sound, like twigs tapping on rocks, caught his attention, and his ears lifted slightly as he caught sight of something falling across the pond. His muscles tensed and his legs wound up, ready to flee, but he froze when he lifted his head and saw the small human at the top of the cove wall.

His eyes widened in surprise, his pupils dilating as he recognized the human--it was the boy who had freed him.

 _“You... you came back...?”_  He whispered to himself incredulously, a quiet rumble in the back of his throat. He stared up at the boy unblinkingly, taking in his stiff posture and his wide eyes--the boy was frightened. Was he scared of Lone?

The human child seemed to realize Lone wasn’t glaring at him angrily, and he slowly relaxed his muscles, sitting back as his mouth opened in awe and his expression began to mirror Lone’s curiosity. He tilted his head slightly in scrutiny, and Lone did the same, his peridot green eyes never leaving the teen’s grass green ones.

For a moment, Lone wondered if the human was there to finish the job, but there was something about the look in the boy’s eyes that told him differently. This human had freed him--this human had not hurt him, and he still wouldn’t, as far as Lone could tell. Lone was still suspicious, wary and wondering about the boy’s motives, but none of his questions would be answered, because the boy slowly backed away, and soon he was out of sight, disappearing behind the rocks.

Lone relaxed when he couldn’t see, scent, or hear him anymore, his wings sagging. He sighed, laying down again and staring into the lake.

_“Why...? Why did you let me go...? Why did you come back...?”_

~~~

Danny had been tailing Hiccup for the majority of the evening, mostly out of boredom since Curious had stopped trying to fly out of the cove for the day. It had started raining when evening hit, but Danny wasn’t too worried about that.

Hiccup was currently sitting alone in some sort of mess hall with only the candle lights beside him as he read a book Danny had recognized as the dragon manual. This must have been the original Norse version Dora had mentioned. He couldn’t read it, and he made a mental note to ask Dora later if she knew how to read dead languages in addition to speaking it, but fortunately Hiccup apparently liked reading out loud to himself.

“--extremely dangerous, kill on sight,” Hiccup muttered, frustration growing evident in his voice.

Danny winced sympathetically--almost all of the entries so far consisted of a brief description and that warning. This dragon manual was nothing like the one he had seen with Dora, which had pages and pages of information on each dragon. Then again, Dora’s manual was a complete one, from far in the future compared to the one Hiccup had now.

“Scauldron, sprays scalding water at it’s victims. Extremely dangerous--ah!” Hiccup startled when a clap of thunder echoed outside the building, and the door--which Danny was sure hadn’t been open before--creaked ominously as lightning flashed through the entrance.

Hiccup let out a breath of relief, going back to reading the dragon manual--and Danny froze when he saw the air in front of him condense with fog. His ghost sense?

He tensed, wary, and nearly yelped when he felt a hand on his back. He managed to stifle it, Hiccup’s voice drowning out any sound that managed to escape, and looked behind him. While Hiccup had his back turned, Danny flashed into visibility for a half second, and beside him, he saw Dora do the same. He relaxed when he realized it was only his friend, reaching up and grabbing her hand. She tugged him in the direction of the door, but he stopped her and looked over his shoulder at Hiccup.

“--Kill on sight. Kill on Sight. Kill on sight...” The brunet muttered to himself with increasing frustration and slight desperation, flipping rapidly through the pages of the book. He seemed to be looking for something that, apparently, didn’t need to be killed on sight. He stopped toward the back of the book, his voice losing all of its edge as he breathed the name written at the top of the page. “Night Fury...”

Danny felt Dora squeeze his hand and her presence coming closer, just as curious as he was. Hiccup read the nearly blank page out loud, and Danny’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Speed unknown, size unknown... the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. Never engage this dragon,” the boy mumbled with a hint of disbelief, “your only chance--hide and pray it does not find you.”

Hiccup scrutinized the page, reaching into his vest and pulling out a hide-bound journal. He opened it to the page marked by his charcoal pencil, placing it on top of the book--the sketch of the Night Fury he had made in his journal fit perfectly into the blank space, as if it belonged there.

Danny’s eyes widened as he realized now exactly who Hiccup was. He recognized the sketch in that journal--he had seen it before.

Dora tugged on his hand again, and he let her pull him away. When they got outside, they returned to visibility, flying through the air to their campsite, ignoring the rain pelting at their skin.

“Dora, that kid--Hiccup, I think that’s what the other vikings called him,” the half-ghost boy spoke just loud enough to be heard over the rainstorm’s gales, “he’s... the author, isn’t he? The one who wrote your dragon manual.”

“Yes, but he’s still in his beginning,” Dora giggled, “he’s not what you expected, is he?”

“Not really, no,” Danny managed a chuckle, “but I thought Hiccup was interesting. Good to know there’s a really good reason for that.”

“He’s certainly something else,” Dora said softly, “as are you.”

“Wimpy, scrawny teenagers changing the world? There must be something about us,” Danny laughed. “We must be pretty amazing, right?”

“Yes, but not if you catch a cold. Love’s been worried about you being out in the rain.” Dora rolled her eyes. “When you didn’t come back after the rain started, she sent me to find you--I had a feeling you would have been attracted to young Hiccup.”

“Oops, I should probably apologize to Love, huh.” Danny grinned sheepishly, then registered the second part of her sentence and blushed. “Hey! Will people stop making it sound like I’m--uhg, never mind!”

Dora glanced at him in confusion, then shrugged and swooped down beside him as they reached the campsite, where Love had already lay down, gotten comfortable, and extended her wing to use as a shelter. Danny gladly crawled under the great black appendage, undoing his transformation and relaxing as the natural world’s chill got to him rather than his ghostly chill.

“Thanks, Love,” Danny stroked her nose as Dora joined him under Love’s wing, “and sorry for worrying you again, you big mother hen.”

Love snorted indignantly, tucking her head closer to Danny and Dora and gazing at them with hooded eyes.

“Right, rest, let’s do that.” Danny chuckled, pulling out the blanket from his backpack, wrapping around himself before sitting back against Love’s warm body. “Hopefully the rain will stop in the morning.”

“It should,” Dora nodded, “in any case, if you wanted to dream, Love, I don’t mind staying up and keeping watch.”

Love hummed somewhat contentedly, closing her eyes. She wasn’t dreaming, but she kept thinking about Curious, and what she had heard him say earlier that day.

Danny was still absently stroking her scales, murmuring quietly, “Hiccup really isn’t that bad, Love.”

“She knows,” Dora translated Love’s soft reply, “but he confuses her. She thought she would be angrier at the human that had hurt her child.”

“To be fair, he’s a kid himself--he’s younger than me.” Danny grinned when Love opened her eyes to stare at him, “It’s not a bad thing to question your hate for humans, Love.”

Love warbled quietly, shaking her head. She didn’t understand anything anymore. She thought she was supposed to hate humans, and the thought of the humans that killed her still lit her up with fury. But with this human, the one who had saved her son...

“And hey, Love?” Danny ran his hand over her nose and between her eyes, up and down in a soothing motion, “You know, this kind of proves you wrong.”

She blinked at him in nonplussed confusion.

“You remember when you said before that you thought you didn’t deserve your name?” Danny tilted his head, looking into Love’s deep green eyes, “All of this, all of these past two days, you proved yourself wrong. When Curious got hurt, the first thing you did wasn’t going after the one that hurt him. The first thing you did was go after  _him_. Your worry and love won out over your hatred and bitterness. You  _are_  Love, okay? So don’t ever doubt yourself, ever again.”

Love crooned softly, nuzzling his hand affectionately, a grateful look in her eyes.

“You’re welcome,” Danny whispered, smiling back comfortingly as he let his hand fall away, “I know it’s going to be hard to really get over all your hate, but you’re doing well.”

Dora watched the exchange with a gentle expression, listening to the draconic warbles Danny couldn’t understand and didn’t need to--he understood Love well enough. She could get her message across without words.

“Love,” the ghostly princess spoke up, and her two friends looked over at her, “Curious isn’t the only one you’ve been so worried about the past few days. I noticed--you worry about me and Danny a lot too.”

Love tilted her head, nodding slightly in confirmation. Dora reached over, her fingers brushing the Night Fury’s cheek. “Curious isn’t the only one who’s brought your love out over the hate,” she clarified, “so do you think it will be okay? To love us as well?”

The dragon craned her neck over to nuzzle Dora too, purring affirmatively. Danny grinned, leaning back and relaxing at the warm feeling going through him at the thought that his friend loved him.

Dora stroked the nubs on the side of Love’s face, deep red eyes gazing into glowing green. “So do you still think of us as more dragon than human?”

Love stilled at that, staring at Dora before she shifted her gaze to Danny. Danny’s expression had softened when he realized why Dora had asked that.

He looked back at her with a hopeful smile. “It’s okay to love humans, too, Love--you can hate some and love others, and that’s okay.” He reached up to pet her again, “I’m human, Love--I know you wanted to think of me as a dragon, but I’m not. I wish you’d be okay with that.”

Love sighed, laying her head down and whining gently. Dora shook her head with a slightly exasperated smile. “It does get hard to ignore, when he spends more and more time like this around you, huh.” She still stroked Love’s cheek gingerly, “I know it will take some time to get used to, since your feelings about humans are still confusing, but... think about what we said, okay?”

The Night Fury mother eyed both ghostly teenagers, nodding slowly as she closed her eyes.

She had a lot to think about tonight.


	9. Bond of Trust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a long one! Writing Toothless’ perspective is fun, though this is the last of the HTTYD movie events like I said in the last chapter’s A/N, so unfortunately this will be the last time we see Toothless’ point of view for a while.

Lone huffed, collapsing on his stomach in exhaustion. Today’s attempts to get out of the stupid cove were less successful than the previous days’--he was getting weaker and weaker, having gone three or four days now without food. He was beginning to think he’d die here.

He lay his head down, contemplating on what to do now--the best idea was to get some rest, or at least attempt to hunt again. The pond was small but it did have fish--they would have made a great meal, if only he could catch them.

His ears perked when he heard some movement in the gap in the rocks, and he got to his feet, narrowing his eyes. Instinctively he hid atop a large outcropping of rock, flattening himself against it and peering over its edge, staring intensely at the gap.

His muscles tensed as he saw who came through the gap--once again, it was that human boy. The one who had brown head-fur and wore fur coverings that smelled like yak. The boy tossed a fish on the ground just outside the gap, peeking out nervously--Lone could smell his sweat, and it gave away how anxious he was.

The boy lodged something wooden and round into the gap, and after making sure it was secure--or at least, Lone thought that’s what the boy was doing--he ducked under it, slipping into the cove. He checked the wooden thing again before he picked up the fish, holding it to himself as he slowly made his way forward, looking around both expectantly and nervously.

Lone wondered what this human boy had to be nervous about--most humans weren’t nervous; they were angry and loud and scary. But this one was small and skinny and hardly anything even the Six-Eyed Lava Dweller queen would eat--maybe that was why he was nervous? Was he scared because he knew he was small and weak?

The young Wind Walker bared his gums with a slightly triumphant feeling when he realized this--that human  _should_  be afraid of Lone! Lone was an intelligent, silent hunter, the best flier of the herd under the queen’s rule! Humans screamed when he came shooting his plasma--they might have aimed to kill him as they did all his kin, but he knew well that humans were afraid of him. This one should be too!

...So why did he keep coming back?

Suspicious but curious, Lone made his way forward, one claw gripping the edge of the rock as he spread his wings, hoping to be intimidating. The boy seemed to notice the shadow moving out of the corner of his eye, because he gasped and spun to face the dragon, his eyes wide and his mouth agape. He stepped back a few times as Lone made his way down from the rock and onto the ground.

He stalked forward as if he were hunting, his muscles tense as he eyed the human boy warily, waiting for some kind of trick. Humans were ruthless after all--if this boy kept coming back, he had to want something, right?

 _“Why did you come here today?”_  He growled threateningly, shifting his body to make sure he was always facing the boy.

The boy gulped, trembling, and slowly held out the fish in offering, stretching his long, stick-like foreleg as far as it could go. Lone narrowed his eyes at it curiously, sniffing as he took a step forward. His stomach grumbled at him at the smell of food, and he eagerly took another step few steps forward.

Enticed by the promise of food, he opened his mouth to grab it, but another sniff let him catch the scent of metal, and he snapped his mouth shut and backed away, snarling.

 _“I knew it--this is a trick!”_  He glared, his eyes searching the boy for the weapon he knew the boy was carrying. This human had been luring him in with the fish, and Lone just knew that when he was distracted, the boy would gut him!

The boy flinched and brought the fish back to himself, shifting it to his arm as he quickly lifted his fur covering, looking down at his weapon in the panicked realization that Lone had figured out his trick. He reached for it, and the Wind Walker growled loudly in warning,  _“Are you asking to be killed?”_

The boy froze, breathing deeply as he tried to calm his racing heart. Lone tensed, preparing to attack if the boy planned to scrap his fish baiting idea and go straight for the kill, but then the boy did something unexpected.

He pulled the small silvery weapon from where it was hidden between the fur coverings and held it out beside him--not in front of him--and dropped it on the ground.

Lone stared at it, his eyes still narrow and his pupils constricted. He tossed his head toward the pond, glancing at the boy’s nervous expression and demanding,  _“Put it where you can’t use it to hurt me, if you want to live.”_

The human boy dug his hind paw under the weapon, balancing it carefully, and then tossing it into the water. Lone’s eyes followed it as it plopped into the pond with a small splash, and then he shifted his gaze back to the human.

 _“You actually did it?”_  Lone was confused now. Most humans didn’t listen to that kind of thing--he was under the impression that humans couldn’t understand the draconic tongue.

The boy stared innocently back at him, still trembling, and Lone felt his eyes stop constricting as his bewilderment overcame his suspicion. He sat up, his wings relaxing behind him--after all, the human had thrown away his threatening thing, so Lone didn’t see the need to be so threatening anymore either. Besides, it seemed like his presence alone was intimidating enough to the small human boy.

Involuntarily, his ears twitched toward the boy curiously--it was a habit he’d had since he was a hatchling, and he couldn’t help his interest in the boy now.

The human child was afraid of him, yet he kept coming back. He freed Lone before, and he threw away his defenses despite that Lone could easily tear him to shreds or burn him to ashes. He seemed like he genuinely didn’t want to hurt Lone, which confused him a lot, and he had also, apparently, brought food for the starving dragon.

Food which he was now holding out once more, his watching green eyes wide in anticipation.

Lone narrowed his eyes slightly, but as he didn’t smell any other metal on the boy, he carefully stalked forward once again, his ears and nubs flattening against his neck. He opened his mouth to take the fish, and the boy said something--Lone didn’t understand what it was, but he looked up at the boy to see confusion marring his expression.

The Wind Walker looked back at the fish, still wondering if there was a trap of some sort. Just in case, he unsheathed his teeth, snatching the fish from the boy’s paws as he yelped in fright and pulled his forelegs back to his body as quick as he could. Lone couldn’t help but smile to himself at that--he had made the boy think he was going to eat his paws!

He gobbled up the fish greedily, relief washing over him as it slid down his throat. He licked his lips and teeth to savor the taste of the fish against them, glancing back at the boy as he finished saying whatever he was saying before he was interrupted by his own scream. 

His eyes constricted as he took in the human’s stiff posture, and he craned his head forward with a frown.  _“What are you babbling about in your human tongue? Are you complaining because that food was yours?”_

The boy gasped and stumbled back nervously, and Lone padded forward, burbling,  _“Oh--were you only trying to share a bit with me? Well it_ was _yours, you caught it fairly....”_  The young Wind Walker leaned in and inspected the human child critically, finally realizing that the boy wasn’t just small--he was unusually small, especially in comparison to all the other humans Lone had ever seen. They were usually big and burly. Was this boy a runt?  _“Then again, you’re kind of scrawny... are you just underfed? Why do you share if you need the food more than I do?”_

The boy was babbling something again, seeming panicked at Lone’s proximity. Lone ignored him and crossed his eyes, deciding,  _“Okay, fine, you can have some of it back--you look like you need to eat too.”_

He regurgitated half the fish, letting it fall into the boy’s lap, missing the slightly disgusted face the boy was making as he retracted his teeth. The boy stared in confused awe as Lone sat back on his hind haunches, watching him expectantly.

The boy pushed himself into a sitting position against a rock, staring up at him blankly. Lone wondered why he was still nervous--he could smell the boy’s sweat even more at this range. Maybe he wasn’t used to eating with people watching? Or maybe he normally gave his food away anyway, and that was why he was so small. But why would he give his food away? That was stupid--and confusing. It was nice, maybe, but also confusing. A lot of things about this boy was confusing. Lone debated calling him Confusing One.

The human child looked away awkwardly, and when he looked back, Lone finally got the feeling that he didn’t know what to do, so he glanced down at the half-eaten fish as if to say, “well, what are you waiting for?”

The boy gasped and looked down at the fish, then back up at Lone. He seemed to realize that Lone wasn’t going to let up until he ate, so he made an odd face and lifted the fish, opening his mouth and hesitantly taking a bite. Lone nodded in approval, watching with a slight fascination--he had never seen humans eat before. Their mouths were so small, and their block-like teeth didn’t seem to be good for much, but the boy managed to take a chunk off the fish anyway, which impressed the young dragon. His ear twitched in interest again.

The boy’s cheeks puffed up in a way that reminded Lone of a squirrel storing nuts in its mouth. He made a muffled affirmative sound, and Lone guessed that it was something along the lines of “it’s good!” as he offered the rest of the fish back to Lone. Lone’s ear twitched again and he tilted his head at the boy--he looked like he was having trouble swallowing, so Lone made the motion, wondering if it would help. The boy made another face, taking two tries before he successfully swallowed, and he let out a shuddering breath when he was done.

This human was weird, Lone decided. It was like he didn’t know how to eat fish. He licked his lips at the thought of the fish, though--surely the boy couldn’t deny it was delicious.

The boy’s lips pulled back and revealed his block-like teeth as if he was baring it, and Lone squinted suspiciously before he realized he couldn’t sense any hostility coming from the human in front of him. The way the boy’s lips tugged upward, too, was a bit odd--was it a human gesture for something? What did it mean? Was it agreement to what Lone was thinking earlier?

Curious, Lone attempted to pull his lips back in the same way, revealing his gums. The boy’s lips relaxed a bit and his eyes filled with awe--he seemed surprised at Lone’s attempt to communicate with him. He shifted, putting the fish aside as he got on his hind leg and reached out a forepaw.

Lone’s green eyes narrowed suspiciously again. His unsheathed his teeth as his ears flattened against his head.  _“What do you want now?”_  He hissed, backing up and shooting his wings out, turning and flying to the other side of the pond.  _“Stay away from me!”_

He had forgotten that humans were supposed to be untrustworthy. Even if this one had brought him food, he wouldn’t cave so easily to whatever trick the boy was trying to fool him with.

Frustrated and confused and still tired--he had only eaten half a fish after all--he shook his head to clear the muddle in his head and fired a stream of plasma at the ground, pawing at his circular path before he lay down on it, curling up in the warmth. A bird chirped in her nest above him, and he looked up at her as she flew off--he couldn’t fly like her anymore, but at least he had managed the flight across the pond. Still, he couldn’t help but feel a little jealous.

As his gaze fell, he noticed that the human boy had not left yet--and eyes widened and his ears perked as he saw the boy sitting down a few feet across from him. How did he get there so fast and so quietly? The boy did that not-bearing-teeth thing again, lifting a forepaw. Lone flattened his ears against his head, trying not to seem too interested as he gave the boy a hooded glare.

For some reason, the boy’s eyes were bright and Lone couldn’t smell any fear on him anymore--no nervousness, just... excitement, maybe? But he had been fearing Lone just a few minutes ago. What had changed? Was it because Lone had fed him?

 _“Seriously, what do you want?”_  He groaned, laying his head down and shifting his body to shield himself with his wing and cover his face with his tail.

He heard shuffling, and he lifted his tail to look at the boy, who was closer than before--the boy stiffened and retracted the forepaw he had been reaching toward Lone’s tail. He stood up and turned away in one motion, holding his forelegs tight against his side, walking away quickly and not looking back as if he hadn’t just tried to touch Lone.

Lone stared at him curiously and suspiciously, getting to his feet again and stalking away, hoping that the boy wouldn’t bother him anymore if he found a different sleeping spot.

He turned to watch the human child as he stopped near a large tree root hanging over the edge of the cove. The boy was making his way back over to the other side of the pond, where the sun was. Lone huffed, climbing onto the tree root and curling his tail around the branch, hanging upside down from it. It was somewhat warm today anyway--he could sleep without the warmed earth, he thought as he wrapped his wings around himself.

He gazed across the pond at the boy as he turned back to watch the dragon, and he snorted, closing his eyes. At least the boy was smart enough to not come back over and try to touch him again. Maybe now he could get some rest.

~~~

Dora watched in amusement as Hiccup finally got bored of watching Curious sleep and sat down on a rock. There were only so many hours he could spend sketching Curious in his notebook when Curious was in such a stationary position.

Beside her, Danny looked similarly bored--he had pulled a notebook and pencil out of his own backpack a few hours ago, drawing Hiccup and Curious in it. Love periodically watched him draw over his shoulder after she had determined that Hiccup wouldn’t go near her son again.

Before he started drawing, Danny spent most of the afternoon telling them what he saw when he followed Hiccup in the village that morning--apparently, Hiccup and the other viking teenagers were part of some sort of class where they got to learn how to survive against and battle dragons. Hiccup was, predictably, bad at the class, barely able to lift a weapon or run away from the dragon fast enough. This class’ dragon had been a Deadly Nadder--one which Danny had accidentally spooked when he got too close to the training arena, and then tried to stop from hurting the viking teens without being seen.

Love had then spent the next hour explaining, through Dora, how dragons naturally and instinctively reacted to things that smelled of “demons” with fear. Danny had been fascinated, wondering if the dragons would have reacted to his human half similarly, though there was no way to experiment with that of course.

He currently sat in a tree above Love and Dora, in human form, sketching the view of the cove silently. “He hasn’t gone back yet...” He murmured, looking up at the pinkish-blue sky.

“Pardon?” Dora tilted her head to look at her friend.

“Hiccup. He hasn’t gone back to the village--it’s nearly sundown, yet...” The black-haired boy shook his head. “Then again, I’d probably do the same if I were him.”

Love crooned softly at him,  _“What are you talking about, halfling?”_

Danny took a guess as to what she asked, and he shrugged, tapping his pencil against his sketchbook as he lowered his gaze back to the cove. “He doesn’t really have any friends, as far as I can tell. When that girl Astrid yelled at him, the way the other kids looked at him was... I don’t know, he seemed kind of lonely when he realized how differently he thinks compared to the other vikings.”

 _“Perhaps he is like you, halfling,”_  Love snorted, looking back at the boy in the cove,  _“he thinks more like a dragon than he does a human.”_

“And yet you still distrust him,” Dora mused, and quietly explained to Danny what Love had said when he shot her a questioning look. “I agree with Sir Phantom, though. He does seem lonely.”

“And thus he goes and befriends a dragon--or tries to,” Danny waved his pencil nonchalantly, “Curious didn’t look too trusting of him.”

 _“He shouldn’t be,”_  Love huffed,  _“even if friendship is his only motive... how can it survive? The humans and the dragons... they are still at war. What if he gets hurt?”_

“Remember what I said, Love?” Dora reached over blindly, searching for her invisible friend and then stroking her neck nubs habitually. “Hiccup and your son... they change the world--they unite dragons and humans so that they can be together without the war.”

Love sighed, laying her head down. Her ears twitched as, down below, Curious woke up, dropping from his position of hanging on the tree root and landing on his feet. He padded over to where Hiccup was sitting, doodling in the dirt with a stick now.

Curious, true to his name, sat down beside the auburn-haired teenager curiously, his eyes wide and his pupils dilated as his head followed the movement of the stick in fascination.  _“What are you doing?”_  He warbled, as if under the impression that the human child could answer him. Hiccup stiffened at the sound, but carefully didn’t turn to make eye contact, continuing his drawing as if in answer to the Night Fury.

Danny squinted, then laughed quietly when he made out the drawing on the ground. “He’s drawing Curious again!” He pointed out, grinning.

Love rolled her eyes.  _“I can see that. He draws Curious a lot.”_  She shook her head,  _“I don’t think Curious has ever seen a human draw before though.”_

“You didn’t either, before you saw Sir Phantom doing it,” Dora remarked.

 _“Yes, well... knowing Curious, he’ll want to try it himse--”_  Love stopped purring her reply when, just as she predicted, the younger dragon lit up as if with an idea and stood on his hind legs, waddling off and clamping his jaws down on a thin branch of the nearest tree.

Hiccup looked up with his eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the crack that sounded when Curious ripped the branch off the tree. He turned his head to watch as Curious dragged the end of the branch across the dirt, similar to how Hiccup had been doing. The boy’s eyes widened in awe as they followed the black beast, and Curious lifted the tip of the branch off the ground to look at his handiwork, glancing at Hiccup as if to say, “look, I did it too!”

The boy smiled when Curious looked at him for affirmation, and the dragon tilted his head sideways and tapped the branch to the ground to add a dot to his dirt scribble. Hiccup leaned over to see what Curious was doing as he turned and continued on with creating his masterpiece. He looked absolutely astounded, grass green eyes following the lines as they formed, both awed and confused because he couldn’t make sense of it.

Danny, having the aerial view, couldn’t make sense of it either. “Uh, do dragons have a writing system?” He asked, stifling a laugh.

 _“No,”_  Love smiled,  _“Curious just wanted to do it because it looked fun. I don’t think he’s ever created anything before... look at how proud he is.”_

Dora giggled after she translated for Danny. “Indeed he does look proud.”

Curious had finished his “drawing” now, setting aside the branch and looking down at his artwork with a nod of satisfaction.  _“It’s perfect.”_

Hiccup stood up, looking down at it in amazement, as if the idea that the reptilian creature could create something was the greatest discovery in the world, no matter how silly it was. The brunet dragged his hand over his mouth in disbelief as he looked around, taking a few steps to get a better look--Curious growled when he accidentally stepped on one of the lines, and he flinched, lifting his foot off slowly. The Night Fury stopped growling, looking over at Hiccup innocently.

 _“Better,”_  he purred, and then growled in alarm again when Hiccup put his foot down on the line again.  _“Hey! Don’t ruin it!”_

Danny snickered as he watched Curious switch rapidly between growling angrily and purring curiously when Hiccup stepped on the line a third time, and the finally the boy moved his foot and stepped on the flat earth of the drawing canvas. Curious remained with his big, doe-eyed look, watching Hiccup as he pulled his lips up in a toothless smile reassuringly. Curious seemed to understand that it was a variation on the smile Hiccup had given him before, because his ear twitched and he tilted his head in thought.

Hiccup held out his arms for balance and looked down at the ground, stepping over the complex scribbles and trying not to mess up any of the lines. He ended up twisting in place a few times to find a place to put his foot down, his path somewhat erratic and looping, and he looked almost as if he were dancing. He was so focused on making his way out of the maze of scribbles that, while walking backwards, he didn’t notice how close he was getting to the Night Fury on the edge.

He only stopped when he felt a warm breath behind him, and he froze, turning and looking up slowly.

 _“You keep doing what I ask...”_  Curious whispered, tilting his head down to look at the boy, his ear twitching in interest. He remained still as the boy backed up a step, nervous, his green eyes wide as they met Curious’.

Hiccup slowly relaxed as he realized Curious wasn’t going to hurt him, even if he was standing close enough to get his head bitten off. Still, his heart was racing a thousand beats a minute--fear, excitement, and awe all coursed through him with every breath. Very carefully, he reached out his hand, an awed sort of disbelief painting his face, telling of just how lucky he felt to be so close to the magnificent creature.

Curious gave him a skeptical look, narrowing his eyes at the hand and rumbling softly in confusion,  _“Why do you keep doing that? Why do you want to touch me? I could bite your paw off, do you not know that?”_

Hiccup drew his hand back with a slightly hurt expression, his fingers closing reflexively at the perceived threat. Curious stopped growling, though he kept his eyes narrowed as Hiccup backed away another half step. The boy tensed, his face set in determination as he came to a decision, and he turned his head away, closing his eyes and forcing himself to relax. Very slowly, he held out his hand once again.

“What is he doing?” Danny murmured, leaning forward in rapt attention. Love, invisible below him, did the same, her eyes widening as the scene unfolded.

Dora smiled enigmatically, whispering knowingly, “He’s changing the world.”

~~~

Lone stared at the boy incomprehensibly, inhaling deeply--he could smell charcoal on the boy’s fingers, the warmth of his skin, and something else he couldn’t name. It wasn’t like nervousness or fear--it was something else, an emotion he hadn’t come across before. It was something that let the boy stand instead of run, despite the fear, and it was something that told the boy that if he closed his eyes, everything would be alright.

His eyes dilated and widened ever so slightly as, before he even realized it, he leaned closer to the boy’s outstretched arm. Another inhale, and something else came through the scent--something that echoed in Lone’s mind as a comforting  _“I trust you I trust you I trust you”_.

He could have easily hurt this boy, and yet... the boy was putting himself out there, believing that Lone  _wouldn’t_. What had Lone done to to earn such... faith?

 _Faith_ \--that was what that scent was. That was the feeling that the boy exuded, and Lone honestly couldn’t remember a time anyone had faith in him. The feeling was so unfamiliar that Lone couldn’t even recall its name, much less a time he had felt it himself.

But standing before this boy now, he suddenly couldn’t help but want nothing more than to believe that the boy was real, that he was genuine, that there was a reason the boy was here in the first place. He wanted to have faith, too.

Lone had run instead of stayed because of the fear that this human would hurt him--but the boy had not, and Lone wanted to believe he would never. The boy was trusting Lone not to hurt him--and Lone wanted to trust the boy in turn.

And maybe, just maybe, if he closed his eyes too, he could hear his faith whispering deep inside his heart, telling him that everything would be okay.

He felt something warm pressing against his snout, and the scent of charcoal filled his nose. It was... nice. It felt comfortable and right--like it was supposed to be this way.

He opened his eyes slowly, catching the boy’s slightly incredulous gaze, and he pulled back. He shook his head to clear the human’s scent, wrinkling his nose and exhaling in disbelief. He gave the boy one last confused look before he turned away, dashing off--he needed time to think.

He honestly didn’t know how to feel about the boy, but he was sure of one thing. This human... he was different somehow, and Lone hoped he wouldn’t regret his decision to trust him.

~~~

Danny looked down at his bare hand, silhouetted in the campfire light. Dora sat adjacent to him, looking up at the sky thoughtfully. Love was, as usual, curled around them, her tail wrapped around the campsite and forming a ring when she laid her head down.

“What are you thinking about?” Dora asked absently.

“Curious and Hiccup,” Danny replied, “Just... it took only a day, but Curious decided to trust him... it’s really something, huh.”

Dora nodded, looking over at him as Love opened her eyes, gazing at the two of them contemplatively. “It’s sweet, I agree,” she tilted her head, glancing at the Night Fury queen, “do you have doubts, Love?” Love burbled in thought, looking away. “Curious may have decided to trust the boy, but you haven’t...”

“Hey Love?” Danny called Love’s attention softly, still staring at his hand, “Why did you decide to trust me? I mean really, really trust me--not just because I reminded you of Curious.”

Love blinked at him. She fell silent in thought, realizing what Danny was recalling--he was remembering the first time she had ever pressed her face into his hand. It was the echo of what Curious had done with Hiccup today.

Was that the moment she decided to trust Danny?

She didn’t know if trust was the right word. She just remembered mourning and sadness and, when Danny came, distraction that led to joy and happiness. She remembered his soothing voice and the look in his eyes, and his kindness and concern as he pleaded to her to let him help her. She remembered the moment when he extended his hand to cheer her up, and she had stopped him with a gentle nuzzle.

That was the moment she had decided to accept his help--the moment she had realized she wanted it. And she still wanted it. It didn’t matter if Danny reminded her of her children at first--he had become something more. Danny was a pillar of support she didn’t know she needed before he appeared in her life--or afterlife, as it was--and it had little to do with Curious.

Warmth filled her core as she thought that yes, that was when she had decided to trust Danny.

She broke out of her reverie, looking down at Danny affectionately. He had broken his gaze from his hand at some point while she was lost in thought, and he was staring back at her patiently. She gave a gummy smile and nudged him with her snout, and he grinned as a feeling of love and gratefulness shot through him.

“You remember that time too, then, huh?” He asked softly, reaching up and petting her. He paused at Love’s amusement and nod of affirmation.

Dora tilted her head curiously, not entirely sure what memory they were sharing. At the moment, though, the puzzled expression growing on Danny’s face piqued her interest enough to distract her from asking.

“Sir Phantom?” She prodded him.

“Hey, Dora, do you ever feel weird when you touch Love?” Danny asked slowly, and Love’s expression became confused, her eyes darting down to where Danny’s hand connected with the bridge of her nose.

“What do you mean?” Dora blinked, thrown off by the non-sequitur.

“At first I thought our emotions were just really in sync, but now I think I’m not so sure,” Danny tilted his head. “What do you feel when you touch her? I mean, emotionally feel, not physically.”

“Oh, um...” Dora reached out and brushed her hand against Love’s cheek. She gave a startled gasp as her confusion intensified for a moment.

“Is... is this Love’s feeling?” Dora asked in awe.

“I thought so too,” Danny blinked slowly. “Earlier I felt amusement and affection, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t mine, so I think it was Love’s emotions somehow. This has happened before, too--with worry and sadness.”

Love blinked in shock, lifting her head so that Danny’s hand slipped off. Dora nodded in agreement to the half-ghost boy, “I thought something was a bit odd--when we were watching Curious and I was petting her to keep her calm, I thought I felt more worried than I was sure I was.”

“That’s so weird...” Danny whistled somewhat appreciatively, “So is she like... transferring her emotions to us somehow?”

“Somewhat--and I think we do the same to her, which must be how we’ve managed to keep her calm in those critical moments,” Dora commented thoughtfully. She paused, and then broke out into a grin. “I think some congratulations are in order, Sir Phantom.”

“Huh?” The black-haired boy blinked in confusion, taken by surprise by the sudden statement. “What?”

“It seems Love has gained her first specialty ghost power,” Dora laughed, and Love stared at her, nonplussed. “It’s a rare one, I’ve only seen it a few times--it’s called  _empathy_. Most ghosts don’t care much for emotions other than the ones related to their obsession, but given Love’s obsession... well, I suppose it’s expected!”

“Empathy, like being able to relate to someone?” Danny asked, still confused. “Wow, uh--congratulations, Love.” He looked up at his green-eyed friend, deciding to just accept this development for what it was as he beamed proudly. “That’s a pretty cool power to have. It suits you.”

Love crooned softly, lowering her head again and nuzzling him, then moving over to nuzzle Dora. They both felt a wave of motherly affection, though there was still the lace of confusion.

“I suppose an explanation is in order,” Dora giggled, and Love nodded. “Empathy is a power which allows you to tell others how you’re feeling with just a touch or a look--it depends on how you develop it. It also allows you to feel exactly what another person is feeling. If you practice it enough, you can filter out which feelings you show others or which people you want to feel the emotions of.”

Love paused, taking a moment to absorb this, before she nodded in understanding. She made a guttural sound at the back of her throat in questioning, and Dora nodded as she responded, “Yes, you can also control how intense the feelings you send out are, or how muted you want the ones you get from others.”

“How do you know so much about this power, Dora?” Danny asked curiously, leaning back against Love.

“Sir Phantom, I am sixteen hundred years old. I’ve met several ghosts in my time.” The ghostly princess chuckled, “It’s mostly the light and dark core ghosts that have these kinds of powers. Love is a light core ghost, right?”

“Yeah,” Danny nodded, “at least, that’s what Frostbite said. What kind of powers do light cores usually have, anyway?”

“Light cores are versatile--they can have any range of powers from the various other core types too,” Dora shrugged, “this is because light and dark, along with magic and neutral, are energy elements rather than natural elements. They’re purer, more adept to adapting because they’re formless. So there’s no telling what kind of powers Love will have.”

Love warbled at them in confusion, laying her head down on her paws.

“I’m going to guess she’s asking about what exactly cores are.” Danny lifted an eyebrow.

“Yes,” Dora nodded. “Would you like to explain, Sir Phantom?”

“Long story short, Love, it’s your soul--it’s basically  _you_ : your imprint, your memories, your feelings.... All of that, bundled up in this... I don’t know what it is,” Danny shrugged sheepishly. “It’s like a heart for a ghost. If it gets hurt or taken out, you die.”

Love frowned at him, narrowing her eyes.

“Yeah, that’s probably a depressing thought,” Danny chuckled, “but anyway! Cores have these types--it determines how the ghosts’ power and form manifest. My core generates cold, which I still don’t know much about but it’s manifested in my ice powers.” At this, Danny held out his hand, making a prism of ice, like he had the first time he showed her his powers.

“For another example,” Dora cleared her throat, “I have a fire core, which is mostly manifested in my fire breath when I’m in my dragon form, but whenever I use any of my abilities, it tends to have a heated special effect, like when I transform. Both of our cores are based on natural elements, things found in the Real World--ice and fire--and therefore have forms determined by physics.”

Love nodded slowly at the explanation, and Dora fell quiet to let her absorb it. After a few moments, she continued, “Energy elements are less tangible. These types of cores either generate no energy, generate it out of nowhere, move energy, or transform it. Light cores are generally of the type that move or transform energy, which explains why empathy comes easily to ghosts of this type. Emotions are considered a form of energy in the Ghost Zone.”

The Night Fury glanced at Danny, mumbling a question and had Dora confused. Danny noticed her expression and asked what their friend had said.

“She said you mentioned that you thought she’d have a dark core, before. She wants to know why.”

Danny blinked. “Oh, it’s just... because of what your obsession could have been, back then. I don’t--I’m sorry, it was just a passing thought,” he shrugged uncomfortably.

Love narrowed her eyes at him, then looked back at Dora.

“He really does mean nothing by it,” the ghostly princess smiled apologetically, “but cores tend to have a personality type too, and, well... revenge is usually a goal of dark core ghosts.” When Love didn’t stop staring at her suspiciously, she sighed and shook her head. “It’s nothing--light and dark cores are nearly identical, except for their goals. And because of those goals, when powers develop in these two types of ghosts, light cores tend toward reactive, fast powers; and dark cores tend toward passive, slower versions of those powers.”

“Look, Love, don’t worry about it.” Danny reached over and stroked his friend’s scales, “You’re a light core--your powers will develop to help you protect and watch over the ones you love. That’s your obsession, isn’t it?”

Love stared at him, then looked over at Dora, who smiled reassuringly at her. The Night Fury queen purred softly, nuzzling Danny back apologetically. A surprised look crossed Dora’s face.

“...Yes, yes it is similar to his,” she murmured under her breath. Danny shot her a questioning look, but she didn’t translate. She shook her head dismissively. “Go to sleep, Sir Phantom. Love and I will keep watch.”

Danny huffed, rolling his eyes. “Seriously, that’s gotta get boring.”

“Well, I suppose so, but I think tonight we shall work on honing Love’s new ability,” Dora giggled, “so we’ll be entertained. Don’t worry about us.”

“If you say so...”

~~~

Love came to the cove when sun rose, and Danny had gone off to follow Hiccup again--Dora had followed him this time. She watched her son sleep peacefully for a while, but it wasn’t long before Danny and Dora came back. “Looks like they don’t have class till later,” the half-ghost boy explained when Love shot him a questioning look.

 _“Ah,”_  Love nodded, settling down again.

“Hiccup is headed this way,” Dora added, taking up a place next to Danny and Love as the latter cloaked herself in invisibility. Down below, Curious was waking up, yawning and stretching and shaking himself awake.

Hiccup came a few minutes later, grunting as he tried to squeeze a woven basked under the shield he’d accidentally lodged in the gap in the rocks.

“Whoa, someone was busy last night,” Danny commented with a grin as he watched Hiccup finally manage to get the basket into the cove, hauling it on his back to bring it forward, along with something else he held under his arm.

“Hey Toothless, I brought breakfast! I hope--” Hiccup grunted as he dropped the basket, kicking it over with some effort. Various fish spilled out, and Curious perked up eagerly. Hiccup panted, bracing himself with his hand on his knee as he took a deep breath before continuing, “I hope you’re hungry--oookay, that’s disgusting.”

 _“You brought a lot more food today? Wow!”_  Curious warbled, his eyes wide as he examined the contents of the basket.

“What is that?” Dora squinted at the thing Hiccup had tucked under his arm, “Is that what I think it is...?”

Danny followed her gaze, studying the odd bundle of leather-like material and sticks. He tilted his head when Hiccup moved away as Curious came closer to the pile of food, sniffing at it hungrily.

“Uh, we got some salmon,” Hiccup pushed some of the fish with his foot, grinning nervously, “some nice Icelandic cod, and a whole smoked eel!”

Danny, who had been petting Love idly, felt panic shoot through his arm. He blinked, glancing next to him where Love was whining.

_“Is he trying to poison my Curious?!”_

“Calm down, Love--what’s wrong?” Danny frowned, keeping his hand on her invisible neck.

Curious, who had been nosing through the pile, suddenly recoiled and unsheathed his teeth, hissing in disgust,  _“An eel!? Are you trying to make me sick?!”_

Hiccup noticed what he was hissing at, kneeling and picking up the yellow and black serpentine creature. Curious roared angrily as he held it up.  _“You are! You were trying to trick me so I would eat it!”_

“N-no no no no, no!” Hiccup yelped, tossing the eel aside. Curious glared at it, then looked back at Hiccup as he held out his hand to placate the black dragon. “Okay--” the boy grimaced as Curious snorted furiously, “yeah, I don’t really like eel much, either.”

Curious squinted at Hiccup’s apologetic smile, huffing.  _“Oh, so you just didn’t know. Stupid human.”_  He grumbled, lowering his head to dig through the pile. It all smelled so good, and he was still starving, so he took the first fish that appealed to his nose, slurping it up and swallowing it before going after the rest.

Dora watched the exchange with a slight amusement, since unlike Danny and Love, she was getting both sides of the conversation. “Calm yourself, Love--he simply didn’t know eels make dragons sick.”

Love rumbled distrustfully, narrowing her eyes as she watched Hiccup move around Curious with the odd contraption still under his arm. Danny looked at Curious in concern, then glanced at Dora. “Eels make dragons sick?”

“Yes--it made me sick as well, when I was alive,” Dora mused, “though thankfully I didn’t have much seafood when I was growing up. It wasn’t local cuisine.”

“Okay, but why?”

“Something about eels are poisonous to dragons--it gives them a fever, dulls their senses, infects their fire, and blocks up their throats so they can’t breathe.” Dora reached over and petted Love, exuding calmness and hoping Love would empathize with her. “It was rather like an allergic reaction--if it went untreated, the dragon would die.”

Danny winced. “Ouch. How would you cure it?”

“The dragon manual I have said that the symptoms were similar to a human disease called Eel Pox--the cure for humans worked on dragons too, as long as you didn’t include the main ingredient of eels.” The ghostly teenager explained, “I know how to make the cure. So if Curious did get sick, I could cure him--so really, Love. Don’t worry.”

Love nodded, relaxing a bit. Her reprieve didn’t last long, though, because she saw Hiccup straddling Curious’ tail, tying something onto it.  _“What is he_ doing _?”_

She didn’t have to wait long for her answer, because Curious jerked his head up in attention, his eyes narrowed as the basket he had been digging his head into fell to the ground. He shifted his tail slightly, feeling something where his missing tail fin used to be.

 _“The human is healing my tail...?”_  He breathed, wondering how Hiccup had done that--he had been so distracted by the food that he didn’t notice what the boy was doing.

His ears flattened and his eyes widened as he realized what this meant.  _“Does this mean I can fly again?”_  He wondered, slowly spreading his wings and hind fins. The tugging feeling on his tail had stopped, so he assumed that whatever Hiccup was doing, he was done with it. He crouched, grinning to the sky, and without warning, he launched up into the air.

Determination lit his eyes as he flew for the edge of the cove--Love gasped because he was heading right towards the ghostly trio. Just as he was about to reach the wall, though, his path of flight careened downward.

 _“No no no! I was so close!”_  He screeched, his eyes widening as the ground came closer. He tried to spread his tail fins desperately, unaware of his passenger--said passenger yanked the brown leather fin open just before they hit the ground, and Curious was able to swoop upward.  _“Yes! Wind, don’t fail me now!”_

“Hiccup!” Danny gasped as the black dragon sped past them, going straight up into the air. That kid was going to fell to his death, there was no way Curious’ tail could support his weight for that long!

Hiccup, however, didn’t seem worried, shouting elatedly, “Oh my g--it’s working!” He looked over his shoulder at Curious, grinning excitedly as he pulled on the fake tail fin, forcing Curious to turn.

 _“What the--”_  Curious roared in confusion, trying to straighten out his flight as he looped back around to the cove, gliding over the pond.

“Yes! Yes, I did it!”

The shout finally caught Curious’ attention, and his eyes constricted as he finally looked under him and saw the boy attached to his tail. What the heck was he doing there?!

Curious huffed, whipping his tail as he made a sharp turn, successfully forcing the boy to let go. The little human skipped once and then splashed into the water with a scream--Curious looked back to see what became of him, only to realize that half of his tail had gone limp.  _“What? Why--aaah!”_  He lost control of his flight and crashed just the same as the boy, flapping his wings to stay afloat as he landed in the water.

He shook his head clear of the dizziness from the landing, growling in Hiccup’s direction.  _“What did you do to my tail--”_

He stopped abruptly, staring as he saw Hiccup come up sputtering and flailing his arms--but despite this, he had the biggest grin on his face. “Yeah!” He pumped his fist into the air with a jump, “I did it! That was awesome!”

Curious was confused--this human made absolutely no sense at all.

Love, however, stared at the boy in awe.  _“He--he helped Curious fly.”_  She whispered. Beside her, Danny laughed in relief.

“Well, at least he’s not afraid of heights.” The half-ghost grinned, watching as the viking teen and the young Night Fury climbed out of the water. “Thank goodness they’re both alright, though.”

 _“He helped Curious_ fly _.”_  Love repeated, and Dora looked in her direction inquisitively.  _“How did he do that?”_

“Hiccup is an inventor, Love,” Dora explained, “he made a fake tail fin for Curious, but it looks like he hasn’t created a way to control it yet.”

 _“A fake tail...? Humans can create things like that?”_  Love asked, obviously impressed.

“Yes, humans create replacements for missing parts all the time. In the village, there are plenty of vikings who don’t have hands or legs.” Dora nodded, “Humans are resilient, you must acknowledge that. Hiccup has yet to learn resilience, though. Curious is helping Hiccup in that respect... he just doesn’t know it yet.”

Danny gave his friend a perplexed glance at that, then looked back down at the cove, where Hiccup was sprawled out on the ground, laughing. Curious shook himself off like a dog would, snorting to get the water out of his system, and then lifted his tail to inspect it.

His eyes narrowed at the brown appendage.  _“This is not my tail... but it looks like it. Why can’t I fly with it? Why did you give it to me?”_  He looked at Hiccup in confusion. He stalked over to the cheerful boy, nudging him with his nose.  _“Hey, answer me.”_

Hiccup gasped in a large breath, sitting up and running his hand down his face to wipe away the water. “That was amazing, huh?” He grinned at the dragon, “It could use some tweaks, but I think I can get you up in the air in no time.”

Curious whined at him.  _“I don’t understand what you are saying! Why are you making that expression at me? What are you agreeing with?”_

“Dora, what is Curious saying?” Danny asked, stifling at snicker at Curious’ pout.

“He has no idea what Hiccup is trying to say.” Dora giggled, “He doesn’t understand Norse.”

 _“Neither do I,”_  Love snorted, watching her son as he sat down next to Hiccup, staring at him intensely.  _“Though it is as you said before--I can learn it if I hear it enough.”_

Hiccup was wringing the water out of his hair and vest as best he could. He gave up after a few moments and got up, slowly moving closer to the black dragon. When Curious realized the brunet was trying to get to his tail, he pulled the appendage away, hissing suspiciously.  _“What do you want with it? Are you going to break my tail again?”_

Hiccup backed up a step, holding out his hands to calm to young dragon. “Hey, it’s okay--it’s okay, Toothless. I’m just going to check the fin, to make sure it still works,” he said soothingly. Curious’ emerald green eyes bored into his calculatingly, and then finally, he lifted the tail back in Hiccup’s direction, letting the boy take a hold of it.

Hiccup pulled the fake fin open, checking it for any imperfections aside from the water it was now soaked in. Satisfied that nothing was out of order, he let go and stepped back from the Night Fury, who still watched him with intense curiosity.

“Okay, I’ve got an idea of what to do, but I’ll have to come fix your tail later, okay? I have to go to class soon, so I’ll be back in the evening.”

 _“Hey--hey, where are you going? What about my tail?”_  Curious tilted his head in confusion, getting up and following Hiccup as he began to move away.

Hiccup blinked and looked back at him. “No, no--you stay here,” he said softly, holding out his hand, “I’ll be back, I promise.”

The young Night Fury leaned closer, sniffing his hand as if the boy’s scent would tell him what the boy was trying to say. All he smelled was that familiar “faith”, and something in Hiccup’s eyes told him  _“please trust me, believe me, trust me”_.

After a moment, he nudged Hiccup’s hand and then sat back, nodding in understanding.  _“Okay, I’ll trust you.”_

Hiccup beamed, turning and walking back toward the gap in the rocks. He stopped to pick up the basket, grabbing the eel while he was at it, and made his way back to the village. “See you later, Toothless!”

Danny hummed. “I didn’t notice it at first, but did he name Curious?” He asked, laughing softly. “He named him Toothless! That’s a great name, haha.”

Love snorted.  _“Having a human name doesn’t matter,”_  she muttered as she watched Curious lay down and curl up, bringing his tail to his face to examine it in fascination.  _“Still... my hatchling can fly again... if he can fly again, he can leave here...”_

“Hey, I’m going to go tail Hiccup again. Want to come?” Danny glanced at his friends.

“Sure,” Dora nodded, looking back to where their invisible friend was, “Do you think you’ll be okay alone, Love?”

_“Yes. I’ll call if something happens.”_

The two teenagers nodded and left, and Love watched as Curious murmured to himself almost longingly.

_“He really wants to help me, doesn’t he...”_

~~~

Two days after the first flying incident, Hiccup managed to make a saddle and a rig to control Curious’--now Toothless’--tail. The two still ended up in the water after their first attempt with the rig, of course, so now Danny was watching Hiccup sketch new saddle ideas in his journal as he sat against a rock.

Hiccup liked to come to the cove and just... talk, and Toothless often laid beside him and listened intently. Hiccup talked about that day’s dragon survival class, about the other viking teenagers and villagers, about his plans for a new invention or an addition to the rig. He would often doodle in his journal at the same time, and Toothless sometimes got inspiration from that and started drawing on the ground with a broken tree branch again.

Hiccup and Toothless reminded Danny a lot of himself and Love, especially early on when he would go to her cave and just vent about his week. Back then, Love stared at him with the same intensity Toothless now stared at Hiccup with--and, like how Love had learned English, Toothless was currently piecing together Hiccup’s language from those conversations alone.

As each day passed, Toothless began to trust Hiccup more and more, and Love noticed with a startle that Toothless had stopped trying to escape the cove on his own, and he seemed eager as he waited for Hiccup’s return every day.

Dora told Danny that Toothless had started calling Hiccup “Precious One” in the dragon tongue, much to Love’s disapproval. Danny could see that Hiccup thought of Toothless similarly--the boy smiled more, and it had nothing to do with his sudden popularity in the village. Danny had tailed Hiccup enough to know that he treasured Toothless more than anything he had known before--he spent his nights working on new inventions in the blacksmith’s shop just for Toothless, and he tried to get away from the other vikings as much as he could to visit his draconic friend despite that he could now make human ones.

“You know, I don’t think Toothless actually knows Hiccup’s name,” Danny remarked absently as he watched the pair in the cove below. Toothless was sunbathing, one eye on Hiccup as the boy rambled about making a bungee cord of some sort so he wouldn’t fall off the saddle. “I mean, Hiccup does refer to himself in third person sometimes, but not enough for Toothless to realize it.”

“I’m sure he’ll learn it eventually,” Dora chuckled, “he has named Hiccup according to dragon culture, so it’s fine. Hiccup will never know.”

“Does he realize Toothless is  _his_  name?” Danny wondered. Love snorted behind him, and he tossed a grin over his shoulder to his invisible companion. “Seriously, what’s so bad about having a ‘human’ name?”

“It’s hard to tell,” Dora shrugged in answer to Danny, “Toothless doesn’t know much about human society, so I don’t think he even knows that having unique names is part of their culture. But I think he recognizes that Hiccup consistently says ‘buddy’ or ‘Toothless’ whenever Hiccup wants his attention.”

Love pouted at the pair, and Dora turned to her. “Love, you can’t stop us from calling him Toothless,” she reached out to pet her friend, “you’re the one who told us before that Curious wasn’t actually his name anymore--he just let you call him that. If he’s called Toothless now, why can’t we call him that too? It’s better than calling him Lone, like the other dragons called him.”

“He doesn’t seem to mind much,” Danny added, chuckling. Love huffed, and Danny got the feeling that she was glowering at them. “Come on. It’s like a nickname, yeah? As long as he likes it, who are we to say it’s not his name too?”

There was a pause before Love burbled in confusion, and Dora replied, “A nickname--it’s an affectionate title, usually, that you give to a friend or someone close to you. Sometimes it even signifies the relationship you have with them. Most of the time it’s just the shortening of a real name, like how Sir Phantom’s given name is Daniel, but his close friends call him Danny.”

Love made a surprised rumble, and Danny turned to stare in her direction. “What? You didn’t know Danny was a nickname?” He paused, catching the way Dora quirked an eyebrow at him. “Oh--right, you didn’t, haha. Yeah, my mom named me Daniel when I was born, but I hate being called that. Vlad and a bunch of people who don’t know me call me that,” he shrugged, “it’s not very personal.”

Dora giggled when Love purred inquisitively at her next. “Ah, I call him Sir Phantom out of politeness--Phantom is his ghostly name, which is also somewhat of a nickname for him, and the ‘Sir’ part is because I knighted him last year. Since it is his title, and I am a princess, it’s only right I call him that.”

“I gave up trying to get her to call me just Danny ages ago,” the black-haired boy jabbed a thumb in the ghostly princess’ direction, grinning in exasperated fondness. “Luckily, she’s cool with me just calling her Dora--outside of the court at least.”

Love hummed in thought. Dora translated her musings out loud, “Why did Hiccup give Toothless his nickname?” She leaned back against a tree, looking out at the cove again, where Hiccup and Toothless still sat together companionably, “Well I suppose it’s because giving a name to a creature like Toothless means he considers Toothless part of his circle--they are equal partners in a relationship. Hiccup cares for Toothless, and in turn, Toothless cares for Hiccup. They trust each other--they are friends.”

Love fell silent in thought, and Dora and Danny exchanged a look. Without being able to see their friend, they had no idea what expression she was making--but a touch to her scales shot a flash of satisfaction through their minds.

Danny didn’t know what to make of it, but it seemed that Love wasn’t going to question Toothless’ name anymore, so he let the moment pass, going back to watching the pair in the cove.

~~~

The days passed quickly as watching Toothless and Hiccup became more entertaining for Danny. He got to learn about dragons as Hiccup did, and he watched with rapt attention every time Hiccup spent time with his new best friend.

Hiccup took what he learned from that time and used it to make sure the dragons in the training arena weren’t hurt during the classes--Danny admired him for that, really. Hiccup was turning out to be kind, nothing like the rest of the vikings, and Toothless lost his suspicious edge as the pair grew together, their bond becoming unbreakable.

Every day, Hiccup came to help Toothless fly, but Toothless never flew away from the cove--he always returned back to it at the end of the day. The ghostly trio followed them, the two teenagers amused by the duo’s adventures in learning how to fly together. Love, while happy that her son could fly again, was a little less enthusiastic about the fact that he now needed a human to be able to fly at all.

Danny laughed when he learned about dragon nip after Toothless fell into a patch of it during one of Hiccup’s test flights. Love had been less than pleased to be knocked into a daze when he rubbed some on her nose, but even she couldn’t deny that the scent and feel had relaxed her. The half-ghost boy was even more amused to find out the plant worked on Dora too, when she had sniffed some of it experimentally.

On another day they were watching the pair in the cove, Danny saw Toothless purring in delight as Hiccup scratched him behind the ears and under the chin. He had turned to Love and asked, “Would you like it as much as Toothless does if I did that to you?” To which Love had glared at him--especially after they saw Toothless collapse with a dazed but happy smile, purring in his sleep. Dora and Danny had gained mischievous smiles, plotting to try scratching Love that way sometime when she didn’t suspect it.

The two ghostly teenagers were always amused by Toothless and Hiccup’s antics--everything from Hiccup playing “catch the light” with Toothless to the time they got tangled up after testing a new rig and had to sneak into the village to cut the bungee cord so they weren’t stuck together. They watched as every time Hiccup got on Toothless’ back, they got more in sync, flying better and faster and longer as they built trust in each other.

Danny wondered if he would ever get to have that with Love--but Love would probably never let him ride her the way Hiccup rode Toothless. Still, as he lay against Love at night and looked up at the stars before he went to sleep, he couldn’t help but think back to what Dora had said the first time he rode her.

To ride a dragon was to trust them with his life. Maybe for a dragon, it was the same.

~~~

Today Hiccup was going for his first real flight with Toothless, though Love noticed with slight concern that Hiccup kept looking down at the cheat sheet that he made. The ghostly trio flew high above the pair, hiding in the clouds so as to not be seen, their supernaturally enhanced vision allowing them to keep an eye on the boy and his dragon.

 _“Humans don’t know how to fly,”_  Love murmured,  _“How can this human think he can keep up with a Wind Walker when humans were never meant to fly?”_

Dora, in her dragon form beside her, answered pointedly, “Humans yearn to fly--they can learn. Sir Phantom did.” She motioned to their companion with her head, and he turned to face them, looking like he was laying in the air.

He grinned up at them. “Did I ever mention that flying is probably my favorite power? And you gotta admit, it’s nice to fly after so much sitting and watching.”

Love chortled, and Danny laughed, turning back around to look at Hiccup and Toothless as they glided above the ocean. With a movement of the foot, the prosthetic tail fin opened and they coasted. Hiccup kept looking back to check on the tail, seeming nervous, and they slowed into a straight line.

Then, with a determined expression and some quiet pep talking to himself, Hiccup lifted off the seat and leaned forward--Toothless dived in sync, roaring happily.  _“Yeah! I’m flying! I can_ fly _again!”_

“Come on buddy, come on buddy!” Hiccup shouted over the wind encouragingly, straightening up from the dive to hover-glide over the ocean--Toothless’ wing clipped the water, a line of foam spraying up in his wake. They flew through a rocky formation, and Hiccup looked back at the tail again, grinning. “Yes, it worked!”

 _“They’re not very graceful,”_  Love grumbled,  _“Curious could have probably flown faster and straighter on his own.”_

Dora shook her head. “Even so, look at how happy they are--look at how much Toothless trusts him to help him fly.”

Hiccup looked forward again and leaned right, trying to steer Toothless around a sea stack, but they ended up crashing into it and Toothless grunted as he pushed off, trying to right himself.

“Sorry!” Hiccup winced, also trying to help, changing his footing on the rig to change the tail’s orientation. They only ended up crashing a second time, and Hiccup apologized again, “That was my fault--”

Toothless slapped him with his ear in irritation, snorting.  _“Stupid Precious One, just trust me! Let me steer, just open my tail fin!”_

“Yeah, yeah, I’m on it,” Hiccup rolled his eyes, looking down at his cheat sheet, fingering his next move, “Position four--uh, three.” He adjusted his footing, pulling up on the saddle as Toothless turned and climbed up, going higher and higher into the sky.

 _“I’m not entirely sure Curious trusts that boy to know how to fly him,”_  Love sighed with a little amusement at last.

“They’re coming this way, fall back or cloak yourself!” Danny called to her, turning invisible and intangible. Dora and Love slowed their flight, doing the same.

Hiccup and Toothless shot past them, whooping in elation, and they didn’t stop even as they passed the clouds. 

“Oh, this is amazing!” Hiccup yelled happily, “The wind in my--cheat sheet! Stooop!” He screamed as the little paper flew away, and he twisted his body to grab it.

Danny gasped as, in that moment, the cord keeping Hiccup in his seat got loose, and Hiccup and Toothless began to fall. “No!” Hiccup screamed when he realized his foot had slipped from the stirrup. Toothless’ eyes widened when he saw Hiccup floating slightly before gravity took effect, and he screamed in fright.

 _“No! Precious One, what happened--no, don’t fall!”_  He flapped his wings wildly, turning in the air and trying to find his friend--Hiccup was such a small, fragile human after all, and he would get hurt if he fell from this height. Not to mention, he needed Hiccup to fly himself.  _“Precious One!”_ He roared when he spotted the boy spinning in the air next to him.

“Oh gods, oh gods, oh no--” Hiccup flailed in panic, trying to orient himself to grab onto Toothless again, “A-alright, okay--y-you gotta--kinda angle yourself!” The Night Fury whined as he understood what Hiccup wanted, fighting the wind to get back under his rider, but the way he was falling only made him turn in place. “Okay, no no no, come back down towards me. Come back down--”

Hiccup yelped in pain as Toothless’ wing whacked him away, and Danny--knowing that if they didn’t get back together soon, they’d hit the ground painfully--swooped down and pushed Toothless’ back so he would stop spinning just enough for Hiccup to start falling parallel to him.

Toothless shrieked at the sudden cold presence next to him, but then suddenly he felt Hiccup’s fingers against his scales--the boy hooked himself back into the saddle and slid his feet in place, and Toothless quickly forgot about the demon he had scented in favor of the relief that flooded him at Hiccup’s touch. He spun into an upright position and spread his wings, pulling out of the dive as Hiccup opened his tail fin at the last minute.

“They did it!” Danny cheered, flying back up to the last place he saw Dora and Love.

“You helped them?” He heard Dora gasp, “Don’t celebrate yet, they’re not out of the woods!”

 _“Hang on!”_  Toothless yelled, angling his body up to keep himself from grazing the forest right below them. The wind ripped almost violently at the skin on his wings, his tail barely clearing the trees that sped by under him. His eyes widened in fear as, through the fog, he caught sight of the jutting sea rocks they were careening towards uncontrollably.  _“Ooh no oh no!”_  He looked up at Hiccup, his eyes constricted in fright.

Hiccup wasn’t experienced enough to help him dodge that--they were going to crash painfully, at the speed they were going, and Hiccup would get hurt. Hiccup realized it too, glancing at his cheat sheet in panic, but he couldn’t read it with how violently it flapped in the turbulence. Adrenaline and fear rushed through him and, with no time to think, he followed his instinct and tossed the paper, grabbing the saddle handles with both hands and adjusting his foot on the stirrup to open the tail.

They turned just in time to dodge the first rock, Toothless’ wing shying it by an inch. A look of determination crossed their faces as they realized they had to work together on this, and Hiccup lifted in the saddle and adjusted the tail again intuitively, leaning to the side to help Toothless turn. He leaned forward with the click of metal and didn’t flinch when Toothless spun to get through a particularly treacherous formation of rocks. After a few more sharp turns and they cleared the last jutting rocks, the fog giving away to open sea and bright blue skies.

Hiccup exhaled in relief and threw his hands up triumphantly, shouting his excitement into the heavens. “Yeeahhh!”

 _“That was perfect! You_ can _fly after all, Precious One!”_  Toothless squealed happily, firing off a harmless blast of plasma in celebration.

Hiccup saw the firework and sagged in exasperation, his arms falling to his sides as he groaned in dread, “Ah, come on...”

They flew right into the flames, which felt more like flying into a hot cloud, emerging from the smoke covered in soot. Toothless laughed at Hiccup’s expression and slightly burnt hair, and the boy glared at him.

“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

Toothless didn’t understand him, but he did recognize the sarcastic tone that Hiccup often used in teasing. He warbled lightly, still laughing,  _“That was_ fun _! I like flying, but I’ve_ never _had fun flying before! Not like this. This is great, Precious One!”_

As the two glided onward, content to not pull anymore dangerous stunts, Love couldn’t help but make a sound of approval.  _“That... was actually impressive.”_

“Hiccup can surprise you in many ways,” Dora nodded in agreement, uncloaking herself in the cloud cover. “I’m glad they’re safe, though.”

“Did you see the way they dodged those rocks? That was so cool!” Danny flew up next to them, grinning excitedly, “Man, dragon-back riding must be so exhilarating!”

“Would you like to try, Sir Phantom?” Dora offered, “I admit, that--obstacle course, for a lack of better word, looked fun.”

“Can we?!”

Love shook her head as she became visible too, chuckling.  _“If you want to go play, I don’t mind. I’ll keep an eye on Curious and the boy.”_

Dora rolled her eyes. “Love has apparently given us permission--not that we needed it, I’d think. Well then, shall we, Sir Phantom?”

Danny laughed and flew over to her, undoing his transformation and landing on her back. “It’s more fun like this--gravity applies in this form and all.” He grinned at her quizzical look, grabbing one of her back spines. “I’m ready when you are!”

“Hang on then!” Dora lifted her head, angling her body to do a backwards loop, diving toward the ocean before looping around and heading back toward the sea stacks. Danny whooped eagerly, his voice fading as the pair got further away.

Love watched them go, then turned forward again to follow her son and his rider.

 _“It does look fun.”_  She smiled to herself, sighing wistfully.  _“Curious obviously enjoyed it.... Maybe a dragon who lets a human ride him isn’t such a disgrace after all.”_

~~~

Love watched as Toothless and Hiccup relaxed after a long day of flying and fishing, sitting on some rocks at a black sand beach and eating their respective dinners. Like Danny, Hiccup cooked his fish over a fire--he had politely refused Toothless’ offering of a regurgitated fish head, which made Love wonder if humans really didn’t like regurgitated food for whatever reason.

The sun was setting and the sky was orange when Danny and Dora landed beside her, tired and panting and obviously as worn out as Toothless and Hiccup were--and just as happy. Dora lay her head down to rest, and Danny got off her, sitting between Love and Dora and dangling his feet over the edge of the cliff.

He reached out to stroke both of their necks, sighing contentedly. “That was probably the most fun I’ve had in ages.”

“This is certainly the vacation I wanted from ruling my kingdom,” Dora giggled. “Did I ever thank you for bringing me, Sir Phantom?”

“I think so, but I don’t mind if you didn’t.” Danny grinned at her, then looked over at Love. She seemed peaceful--and she felt that way too, which was a nice change from all the worry and panic she normally had when she watched over Toothless. “Love?”

Love shook her head quietly, gazing down at the scene below. Hiccup was feeding a tiny dragon--a Terrible Terror, if Danny recalled the name correctly. It gobbled up its food gratefully, then curled up beside him like a cat, falling asleep. Hiccup looked amazed at this, carefully laying his hand on the small dragon’s side and petting it.

A pensive expression overcame his face as he whispered, “Everything we know about you guys... is wrong.”

He sat against Toothless quietly for a long time, absently stroking the Terror or eating his dinner, deep in thought.

 _“The boy is right,”_  Love finally spoke up, and Dora glanced at her inquisitively,  _“I’ve watched them all day, and I think he’s right.... about humans, too.”_

“Everything you know about humans is wrong, too, huh?” Dora smiled knowingly, “I’m glad you’ve put some thought into this, Love.”

 _“I’m sorry I didn’t want to accept it before--that Danny is human, and that you used to be too.”_  Love crooned softly. She fell silent as Dora told Danny what she said, laying her head down.

Danny smiled over at her, nodding in understanding. “Apology accepted, Love.” He said softly, then turned his attention back to Hiccup and Toothless too.

Down below, Hiccup was speaking to Toothless again, murmuring, “You know, everyone back home is afraid of dragons. They don’t really act like it, but they are. I think Dad’s more afraid than anyone--Mom got eaten by a dragon when I was a baby, and I think he wishes I was more like him so I wouldn’t be eaten too.”

Toothless glanced at him, wondering why his tone of voice was so sad.  _“I do not know what you're saying, Precious One, but I am listening.”_  He purred, and Hiccup reached over and stroked his nose, sighing. Toothless nuzzled him in concern.  _“I’m here, I’m here, I’m here.”_

Love stared sympathetically at the boy--Hiccup had every right to be afraid of dragons, to hate dragons for what they had done to his mother. Dragons had killed his mother when he was young--just as humans had killed Love when Toothless was young.

Toothless had every reason to hate and distrust humans, too, and yet here he was, curled around a boy he called his Precious One, nuzzling and licking him in comfort. He didn’t hate humans--or at least, he didn’t hate Hiccup. Hate was a wound that was hard to ignore, but Toothless was overcoming it and healing with Hiccup’s help, and even Love knew that this whole thing felt  _right_.

Hiccup and Toothless belonged together--they helped each other see that they were wrong and they bettered each other. And if Love were honest with herself, she couldn’t help but feel proud of  _both_  of them for doing what she didn’t want to do.

She glanced over at Danny and Dora, gratefulness in her eyes. Maybe she didn’t want to get over her hate--but she was doing it anyway, with their help. Just a little bit, she was proud of them--and herself--too.

She looked back as Hiccup stood up, carefully leaving the sleeping Terror undisturbed as he mounted Toothless for the flight home. “We’ll make them understand, someday, Toothless,” he patted the dragon’s neck affectionately, “then no one will have to be afraid, and I won’t have to hide you anymore.”

 _“I feel hope from you,”_  Toothless crooned,  _“so whatever it is you are sad about... I believe it will be okay.”_

Hiccup grinned at him, gripping the saddle handles. “Okay, bud, let’s go home.”

The pair took off, and Love got to her feet, watching them become a speck in the distance. Beside her, Danny and Dora did the same.

“Should we head back too, Love?” Danny asked after a long time, eyeing the dragon carefully.

Love shook her head.  _“Now that I know Curious will be fine... I think it’s time we move on and try to find my other offspring.”_

Dora lifted her head, her frills perked up. “Really?”

The Night Fury mother nodded, looking toward the sinking sun in the west. Dora turned to Danny and relayed what Love had said, and his eyes widened. “Wow, I thought we’d never leave. Cool--should we set up camp here for the night and leave in the morning then?”

“That would be wise,” Dora nodded, “You said you ran out of food, right? This area has a lot of fish--we can catch some for your dinner tonight and perhaps for your breakfast in the morning.”

Love grinned, spreading her wings and nodding at her two companions.  _“I’ll hunt. Perhaps the halfling should make use of the fire Hiccup left behind?”_

“We’ll meet you down there,” Dora agreed.

Love flew off, diving into the waters. When she came back to shore, Danny and Dora had rekindled Hiccup’s fire, and Dora lay curled around the black-haired boy. They set up camp as usual, conversing jovially as Danny ate.

Dora was asking questions about Love’s daughter when she stopped suddenly, her red eyes widening as her pupils constricted.

“Dora?” Danny asked in concern, gazing up at her as she lifted her head, looking around wildly. Across from him, Love was doing the same, but she was cringing, trying to flatten her ears against her neck. “Love! Guys, what’s wrong?!” Around them, the napping Terrible Terrors jerked awake, flying off in a panic.

They seemed to be sensing some sort of danger, so Danny instinctively transformed, his whole body tense as he scrambled to stand. He narrowed his eyes and focused his hearing, trying to catch what the two dragons were picking up on, but he couldn’t hear anything.

“Dora, what is it, what do you guys--” Danny cut himself off in shock, watching with wide green eyes as Dora spread her wings and, without warning, took off. “Dora!”

Love roared after her, just as concerned, but she also seemed frustrated, shaking her head fiercely as if that could get rid of whatever she was hearing. Danny looked at Love in panic, his eyes darting to her pained face and then to Dora’s retreating form, unsure who to help or follow.

He didn’t have to decide, because Love gave a mighty, ear-splitting roar that shook the ground, her own wings shooting out and launching her into the air. She zoomed after Dora, and Danny jumped into the air too, hurrying to catch up with them.

He didn’t know what was going on with his friends, and that worried him. He flew faster, trying to understand what was happening and shouting over the wind.

“Where are you two going?! Dora! Love!  _Stop!_ ”


	10. Call of the Queen

Danny wasn’t sure what was going on. His cries to Dora went unheard, and any attempt to stop Love earned him a panicked glare. Neither dragon slowed down, and Love looked like she was racing to get ahead of Dora--Danny had a hard time keeping up, even at his max speed.

When Love finally managed to overtake Dora’s speed by diving with her wings wrapped around her body, she opened her wings at the last minute and spun around to face the sky blue dragon. Her wings flared intimidatingly with every flap, blowing powerful gusts like hurricanes at the other ghost to slow her down. Dora roared with feral anger as she tumbled back at the unexpected barrage of wind, quickly righting herself and charging forward again--right at Love.

Love shrieked just as angrily, and the distinct whine of charge-up made Danny’s eyes widen. He could only watch as Love shot her plasma blast right at her friend, hitting her in the stomach, sending her backwards several dozen meters with a yelp of pain.

Dora growled as she recovered and lifted higher into the air with a few mighty flaps, and Love narrowed her eyes and bared her teeth threateningly. Danny couldn’t help but notice the Night Fury’s glow was brighter than before, and something about Dora’s eyes--constricted to paper-thin slits--told Danny that Dora wasn’t exactly herself.

What had happened to her? Why was Love attacking her? Love definitely seemed like herself, if the upset look in her glowing green eyes was any indication, but Dora was unresponsive to anything Love might have been saying to her.

“Love!” Danny called, coming to a stop as he finally caught up with the draconic pair, “What’s wrong with Dora?!”

Love snarled, tossing her head toward the silver-blue ghost dragon and then cringing, flattening her ears against her skull the way she had been doing for a while now. Was there a sound in the air that he couldn’t hear that was making Dora act so strange? That had to be it--Love seemed to be able to hear it too, which meant it was probably something only a dragon could hear, but at least Love looked like she could resist it.

Distracted by the sound, Love couldn’t react fast enough as Dora swooped forward and tackled her with an animalistic howl, clawing at her blackened skin and managing to puncture it with long, ugly gashes. Love roared into Dora’s face, shooting another fireball and hitting the other dragon at point-blank range, causing her to shriek in pain and let go, falling down into the ocean. Love didn’t waste another second, diving after her with her claws extended and her signature shrill cry. She grabbed onto Dora, practically shoving her the rest of the way into the water, creating a big splash as they disappeared into the depths.

“Dora! Love!” Danny shouted, panicked, not sure what to do. He dove down, his eyes darting to and fro, searching the waters frantically for the colossal ghosts and where they had taken their fight.

Before he could decide to jump into the water too, the pair burst up again, wrestling each other ferociously in a tangle of flapping wings and whipping tails. Love seemed to have the upper hand, being larger and having more endurance, and she had all four legs locked onto Dora somehow--Danny saw one of Love’s hind legs digging its claws  _into_  Dora’s stomach, and her forelegs gripped Dora’s neck in a stranglehold.

Dora thrashed, shrieking like a banshee, but Love’s roars beat hers in volume, her whine constant and desperate. Suddenly Danny realized what Love was doing--she was trying to snap Dora out of whatever trance she was in, begging and trying to cancel out the noise.

Love fired another blast at Dora’s wing, and the silvery appendage snapped closed with a cry of pain. Danny’s eyes widened when the Night Fury queen roared again and in one swift movement, bit down on Dora’s neck. He could see the toxic green ectoplasm of Dora’s blood seeping out from the wounds just around the teeth, a testament to how hard Love’s jaw was locked onto the other dragon, but Dora still fought back despite how much it hurt, writhing and clawing at her opponent with no less ferocity.

"It won’t work!” Danny yelled when he realized Love was trying to force Dora into unconsciousness with a move like that. He flew up quickly and--finally taking action--shot an ecto-blast at Dora’s other wing, which had been flapping wildly in an attempt to gain ground or pull back. The blue dragon screamed, folding the wing closed as smoke rose from the charred spot where Danny had hit, and she would have fallen from the air had Love not had such a tight grip on her. “Love, let go of her! I can take her!”

Love growled, but reluctantly let go of Dora’s neck, her mouth dripping with ghostly green blood. Dora snarled and took that moment to twist her head around to bite down on Love’s shoulder, and Love howled in surprise before Danny swooped in and tackled the Silver Phantom ghost back, his arms locked around her trunk-like neck.

“Dora! Snap out of it!” He grunted, tossing her into the air and charging up an ecto-blast, his hands glowing bright green. He put both hands together and pushed straight up, throwing a large beam into Dora’s chest. Dora yowled in pain again as she was sent flying through the dark gray clouds so fast she left a hole in them.

Love whined in worry, her eyes wide as she stared at Danny, apparently surprised by his display of force. Danny winced--he was much more powerful than Love when it came to how much damage he could do to a ghost, regardless of Love’s size advantage--Love was still a newborn ghost, and she didn’t have any offensive powers aside from her natural abilities. Danny’s specialty was subduing ghosts, and he had fought and defeated Dora and her brother in their dragon forms multiple times before, so he knew from experience that one hit like that wouldn’t be enough to get her down.

True to his expectation, Dora was already diving right back down at him, her jaw opened wide as she took a deep breath and spewed a hot, bright green fire at him. He hastily threw up a shield, the fire dissipating into smoke on contact. In the cover of the smoke he flipped over and looped around Dora to get behind her and land a kick on her back.

He didn’t give her any time to recover, grabbing her tail and spinning her to get some momentum. He caught Love’s eye and he shouted, “Love, fire!”

Love yelped and let out a blast from her mouth just as Danny threw Dora toward her, and Dora collided with the fireball as if crashing into a wall. She was stopped in mid-air and fell limp, gravity taking hold as her body began descending toward the dark ocean below. The Night Fury watched with bated breath, wondering if Dora had been knocked out by the blow--but then she saw Dora’s eyes snap open, wide and still constricted.

“Guh, now would’ve been a good time to have a thermos!” Danny grit his teeth, his legs merging into a spectral tail as he raced toward Dora before she could right herself, and in a split second decision he grabbed her amulet, ripping it from her neck.

Love gave a startled roar as Dora’s form began to shrink, and she swooped down, wrapping her forelegs around the green-skinned ghost before she could hit the water.

Dora, now in her more human form again, struggled weakly in the dragon’s grasp, a lizard-like tongue flicking out as she hissed in displeasure, but even that morphed into a more normal tongue as the transformation faded away. Danny flew up to the pair after he stuffed Dora’s amulet into his backpack, and she opened her eyes to glare at him angrily, her pupils still slit like a cat’s.

“Dora, are you ok--” Danny gasped, his hands quickly darting forward, transparent from intangibility. He grabbed Dora as she tried to phase out of Love’s grip, pinning her arms to her sides. “Whoa there! You’re not going anywhere!” He quickly wrestled her into a more inescapable position, wrapping his spectral tail around her to keep her arms and legs from moving. “Geez, what’s wrong with you?!”

Dora was still unresponsive to her half-ghost friend, protesting her restraint with a series of draconic snarls, spitting streams of ghost fire every so often. Luckily, Danny was smart enough to hold her from behind, making sure to keep in tune with her tangibility so she couldn’t phase out of his grip. Love whimpered in worry, her ears pressed flat against her head, her own eyes still constricted as her gaze darted around in paranoia. Danny glanced up at her, frowning deeply.

“I’m guessing you’re still hearing whatever it is that’s making Dora go crazy,” he groaned, holding onto Dora tighter as she writhed. “Love, I can’t move while I’m holding Dora like this--can you get us out of here?”

Love nodded frantically, quickly flying under Danny, letting him sit on her back. Once he had one hand gripping her shoulder to keep him secure, she coasted, flapping her wings in a frenzy as she sped away and upwards. She made sure to keep her head bowed slightly so that Dora didn’t hit her with her fire whenever she decided to blast it.

Danny looked over his shoulder as they flew. He squinted through the darkness and the fog, catching sight of a hoard of dragons, all flying in one direction like a river of shadows. There were hundreds of the flying creatures, black specks against the gray-white fog, but they were too far away for Danny to make out clearly.

Where were they headed? Was that where Dora had been trying to head too? But why?

Danny turned forward again, trying to puzzle out Dora’s inexplicable behavior. He glanced down at the blonde ghost, noting her various injuries--the bite mark on her neck and the punctures in her stomach bled green onto her blue-white dress, and she had various other scratches and bruises that bloomed darkly on her face and back. He shuddered at the memory of the fight between Dora and Love--it was like watching titans clash; it was a fierce battle between feral beasts the likes of which he had never seen before. Not even Dora and Aragon’s fights were that intense.

A glance at Love told him that the Night Fury was no better off than Dora, shiny green ectoplasm coating her other shoulder where Dora had bit her and broken scales framing long gashes across her chest. Danny had never really seen full ghosts healing before--he normally beat up the ghosts and sent them back into the Ghost Zone, never to see them again until the next time they attacked--and by then they were back in perfect condition. He could see now that, while ghosts did heal faster than humans, it wasn’t by much of a factor. Neither of Dora or Love’s wounds had closed.

He worried his bottom lip with his teeth, tightening his grip on Dora as she began to simmer down the further away they got from the stream of dragons. At the very least, even if she was running on nothing but instinct, she seemed to realize she wasn’t escaping any time soon.

“You okay now, Dora?” Danny asked in his most soothing voice, hoping it would calm her if she wasn’t in her right mind. He felt a vibration against his chest as Dora growled, and he shook his head with a sigh. “I’ll take that as a no.”

Honestly, seeing Dora like this was frightening--even when Dora was in her enraged dragon form, she still usually had enough of her wits about her to react with words when people talked to her. On her better days, she was proper and articulate, and even slightly docile despite her best efforts to overcome that part of her personality. To see her falling to her most primal instincts was so bizarre.

She was reacting to something that the rest of the dragons were reacting to. As Danny gazed down at his friend, he couldn’t help but realize that even without the amulet on, Dora still had that draconic quality about her. It was most obvious in her eyes and the fire she breathed out every so often, but the fact that Dora was still acting like a dragon would--even in her human form--was telling of just how ingrained her other half was in her.

Princess Dorathea wasn’t just the ghost of a human who could turn into a dragon--she was the ghost of a human who was a dragon at heart. The amulet had simply been a tool that allowed her a body that matched her soul. If she hadn’t been born a human, it would have been more accurate to call her a dragon who could turn into a human--and he was sure that on most days, that’s what Dora  _felt_  like.

Dora was more dragon than human, and it was something she usually took pride in--but this time she had been hurt because of it. She would more than likely forgive Danny and Love for practically mauling her in their attempt to stop her from doing whatever it was her instincts told her to, but Danny still felt a little guilty for having done so.

He really hoped she would get back to being herself soon, then maybe he could figure out what happened back there.

~~~

Almost an hour had passed before Dora finally came to her senses, blinking in confusion. She couldn’t move her arms and legs, she appeared to be sitting on Love’s back, and the sky was pitch black above them. She looked down and saw a black, wispy thing wrapped around her like a snake, along with a white-gloved arm around her torso.

“Sir Phantom?”

“Oh, good, you’re you again!” Danny sighed in relief behind her, slowly loosening the coil of his ghostly tail. He returned them to their natural state, stretching out his legs with a groan. “Can ghost limbs fall asleep because I think mine did!”

Dora turned to him and blinked slowly in disbelief, taking in his slightly disheveled state. Then she took in her own bloody appearance--and then Love’s.

“Oh, goodness--what happened?” She put a hand to her head as her eyebrows furrowed. There was a ringing in her ears that was giving her a splitting headache, even as the sound was fading. She squinted at the white-haired boy intensely, her vision swimming.

“You don’t remember?” He lifted an eyebrow at her, reaching out and rubbing her back comfortingly. She winced, and he pulled away. “Sorry, does that hurt?”

“I...” Dora tried to concentrate, gathering her senses. She was sore all over, there was a numb pain shooting through her neck and stomach, and her back had a dull ache from where Danny had touched it moments before.

Her memory came back to her, and she gasped, her eyes widening. “Love!” She cried, looking down at the Night Fury in worry. She had hurt Love! She remembered being angry at her for getting in her way, and then their fight... it was so reminiscent of their first meeting, and it was just as--if not more--painful. She could see the marks of the brawl still marring Love’s skin, unhealed without the ambient ectoplasm of the Ghost Zone to aid her.

The motherly beast merely glanced back at her, slowing her flight to a more relaxed pace as the girl came more and more back to herself.  _“I am fine, Dora,”_  she crooned reassuringly,  _“my ears still hurt but I am no worse off than you.”_

“Dora?” Danny prodded her gently again, “You okay?”

Dora blinked, looking back at him, and then looking down at herself, finally realizing the state she was in--bloodied and bruised and in general, she was a mess. Love and Danny had really done a number on her, too, huh. Well, that explained why everything hurt.

“I think I’ll be fine,” Dora finally answered, shaking her head to clear it--her ears finally stopped ringing, so she could confidently assume that whatever had overcome her was gone.

“Okay. Think you can explain what happened back there? I’d ask Love but there’s only so much a bunch of worry and annoyance can tell me.” Danny grinned with a slight grimace, glancing apologetically at their friend. Love shook her head dismissively, looking ahead again.

“I... I heard something strange,” Dora frowned, concentrating on the memory and staring down at her hands, idly picking at the dry ectoplasm under her nails. “It was like someone was calling me to them... and I couldn’t ignore it.”

 _“That would be the Lava Dweller,”_  Love grumbled irritably,  _“she was gathering her hive to feed.”_

“The Red Death?” Dora blinked at her, “Oh, that’s right... we’re still in her territory, aren’t we?”

 _“We were,”_  the Night Fury nodded,  _“but if you can’t hear her anymore, she’s either stopped or we’re out of range.”_

“Wait, so you were being controlled by the Red Death?” Danny asked, alarmed concern saturating his voice. “Oh--you and Love did say something about how she could do that... I knew we were forgetting something!”

Dora nodded solemnly. “It was... it wasn’t a pleasant experience, to say the least. It was like all of my instincts took over and all I felt was fear--like if I didn’t listen, something bad would happen.” She shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself in comfort. “So that’s what it’s like to be controlled by a queen... it feels like my mother locking me in the tower all over again...”

“Your mom actually did that? Geez, I knew she was evil witch material, but talk about abusive...” Danny couldn’t help but comment, carefully draping his arm around her and gripping her hand where she held it over her shoulder.

Dora snorted derisively, but she squeezed his hand back gratefully as she muttered dryly, “Where do you think Aragon got it?”

The ghost boy frowned deeply. “Are you sure you’re okay? Because this is worse than just cowering in fear from Aragon or your mom. If this is anything like the time I was controlled by Freakshow...”

“It was probably the same,” Dora mumbled, sagging against him, “I couldn’t fight it--I didn’t have the will to. I just--I was compelled to listen, and I couldn’t let anything get in my way, even if I knew it was wrong.” She sighed heavily and shook her head, “I’m really sorry if I hurt you two--especially you, Love. I feel horrible about it.”

 _“It’s okay. I’m not mad.”_  Love purred softly.

“Hey, it’s not the first time we’ve fought,” Danny managed a wry chuckle, “you should know by now I’m made of some tough stuff. It takes more than a little fire to bring me down. Besides, fighting out of control ghosts is what I do--and I’m much stronger than the last time we had to tangle.”

“It’s good to know you can handle me at my worst, then.” Dora’s lips tugged upward in an attempt to be appreciative, but she just felt worn out, exhausted from the fight and the injuries. The smile fell from her face before it could fully form, and her eyes dropped, morbidly tracing the bite mark on Love’s shoulder. “It’s... a little disturbing, to know a dragon can control me like that. I didn’t think it was possible--though thinking back on it, that was stupid of me. I just hope I never have to go through that again.”

Love looked back at her, a gentle hiss reaching her ears.  _“If someone tries to control you again, I will stop you every time. You are my pack mate, my nestling, my fledgling Dora.”_

The ghostly teenager’s core warmed at that, and she managed a small, genuine smile when she tried this time. “Thank you, Love. And Sir Phantom, as well. Thank you both for stopping me.”

“No problem.”

_“Of course.”_

The trio fell into a companionable silence, and Dora closed her eyes, trying to gather herself, still a little shaken by the whole experience. Danny still had his arm around her, quietly rubbing circles onto her shoulder with his thumb, and she could feel Love’s vibrations below them as she purred inaudibly--it was a comforting sound that reminded Dora of a lullaby her nursemaid sung to her in her younger days.

“Hey Love? Dora’s okay now--why are you still flying?” Danny suddenly asked, breaking the silence. “I think it’s okay to stop--we should land and take a look at your injuries.”

 _“I want to get as far away from the Six-Eye’s territory as possible.”_  Love murmured in reply, looking back at him.

“She thinks that the further we get from the Red Death’s territory, the better,” Dora translated tiredly, opening her eyes to look around. “Sir Phantom is right, though, Love--we should stop and rest. We may not need sleep but injuries can take their toll--and I’m sure Sir Phantom is tired as well, as we’ve not given him time to take care of the needs of his human half.”

Love grunted, glancing below--there was nothing but black water and moonlit ice, and the wind buffeting her wings was cold and harsh.  _“There is no place to land safely.”_

“That ice doesn’t look like it’ll support us,” Danny looked over her shoulder, frowning. “I can probably reinforce it with some Phantom Freeze, but...”

The Night Fury frowned, looking around some more--in the far distance she could make out icebergs, and the occasional sea rock.

 _“Just a little while longer,”_  she finally decided,  _“I see some rocks up ahead--they’re small, but they will have to do.”_

“Love says to wait a bit, she sees a place we can rest.” Dora nodded, settling back as Love descended, swooping over the ocean silently.

The large dragon slowed her flight once she reached her destination, flapping a few times to hover over the rock, lowering herself hind legs first. The rock was slippery with frozen ocean sprays, and it wasn’t as flat as she would have liked. It was just barely big enough for her to perch on, and she shifted slightly to lay on her stomach over the slightly curved surface.

Danny pulled his arm away from Dora and floated a few feet up, shifting to hover in front of her. “Okay, let’s get a good look at your wounds now.” He held up his hand, forming a ball of light so he could see more clearly.

Love didn’t move so Dora could continue to sit on her back, but she turned her head and started licking at her shoulder.  _“I forgot I had green blood now.”_  She made a disgruntled face, cleaning up the dried ectoplasm with her split tongue.

“Most ghosts tend to.” Dora replied absently, turning her neck slightly so Danny could inspect the wicked bite mark on her neck. She ran her own hands carefully over her stomach, wincing a bit when she touched the edges of the wounds. “Sir Phantom, you don’t have to worry, these are merely superficial...”

“I know, but I’ve been in enough fights to know how to treat some stuff,” Danny shook his head, frowning. He gently prodded at the holes around her jugular, and she winced. “Sorry. Hey, at least you’re not bleeding anymore, so that’s a plus. But geez Love, were you going for the kill or something? These cuts are pretty deep.”

 _“It didn’t kill her the first time we met.”_  Love replied somewhat sheepishly, looking down at her chest. She licked her paw, patting at the gashes to cover them in her saliva.  _“Dora, do you want me to lick your wounds too?”_

Dora made a face. “Love says she did it because she knew I could handle it, basically. And why would you lick my wounds?” She asked the black dragon, confusing Danny until he realized she wasn’t speaking to him.

 _“It’s always helped my children,”_  Love tilted her head at the girl over her shoulder,  _“Does it not work on humans?”_

“Does dragon saliva have healing properties or something?” Danny asked in confusion, “Or is this another ghost power?”

“...You know, I have no idea. It could be,” Dora shook her head slightly, “but these should heal in a day or two, with rest.”

“Yeah, but you still look like a mess,” Danny sighed, floating over to check on Love now, his ball of light following him overhead. Love nudged him gently as he came to a rest in front of her, examining the claw marks on her chest. “I wish I had a wash cloth or something, then I could properly clean your...”

“Here,” Dora interrupted, shifting her legs and reaching down, ripping a strip of fabric off the hem of her dress. She tore it in half, handing one to Danny. “Use this to clean up that wound,” she instructed, using her half of the cloth to start dabbing at her neck, ignoring the stinging pain.

“Err, uh--okay?” Danny blinked, a little surprised that she had just done that. He looked down at the blue-white cloth the same way, then shrugged and turned to Love. “I’m just going to clean up the wound, okay? Just so we can see the damage better.”

 _“I don’t really see the point, but if it will make you feel better...”_  Love turned her head away as Danny worked, eyeing his light orb contemplatively.

“Don’t try to catch it,” Dora warned her, and she pouted with a huff. Danny cracked a smile at that, and Dora giggled at her friend’s disappointment. She had just successfully lifted the mood.

The ghostly princess removed her cloth and ran her hand over her neck, searching for any spots she may have missed cleaning up, and then she paused, suddenly realizing how naked it felt.

She gasped in alarm, her eyes widening with slight panic. “Sir Phantom, where is my amulet?”

“Huh? Oh, it’s in my bag. I thought taking it from you might have snapped you out of the Red Death’s control, but it didn’t, so...” Danny shrugged, glancing around Love to catch her gaze. “Calm down, Dora. I have it, it’s safe.”

Dora took a deep--though unneeded--breath to calm herself, nodding. “Oh, alright. Thank goodness. Can I have it back now, then?”

“No,” Danny narrowed his eyes at her incredulously, “I don’t think it will happen again, but I don’t want to take any chances. Your dragon form is a heck of a lot stronger than your regular form--I mean, look at what you did to Love.” He motioned vaguely with the now green-stained piece of cloth, and Dora flinched back with a look of guilt. Danny paused, looking a bit guilty himself, backtracking. “Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I just--I don’t want to see you two get hurt again. So if it’s alright with you, I’m going to hang onto it for the rest of this trip, okay?”

Dora chewed her bottom lip, nodded solemnly. “I understand.”

Love rumbled apologetically.  _“I do not wish to see you hurt so badly either, and I did not wish to hurt you like I did, my dragon-heart friend. If Danny can restrain you more easily in your human form, then he is wise to keep it.”_

“I know,” Dora sighed, “it will prevent a situation like this again, at least.” She nodded, idly wringing the cloth and dabbing at her stomach--in her dragon form, it was a weak spot along with her neck. Love knew exactly where to attack her to weaken her drastically--she was drained almost completely of power. Had she been a living being, Love’s attacks would have killed her.

The pain was dulled now, but the exhaustion was kicking in--her whole body still ached, and somewhere in her mind she knew that Love and Danny were right to keep the amulet. She may have been more comfortable with her treasured amulet around her neck, but hurting her friends  _and_  losing this much energy wasn’t the best experience, and she was keen to not repeat it.

“I think... all of us need some rest tonight,” she said after a long moment, shifting and floating up slightly, hovering unsteadily as she moved to Love’s side. “Sir Phantom, you must be exhausted too--you don’t have to waste your energy on that light, it’s unnecessary.”

“Actually I think it’s helping you two,” Danny mused, floating over to Dora after he did a final check to make sure Love was relatively well cleaned, “besides, I’m used to a little sleep deprivation. This little vacation of ours has actually given me the chance to sleep without interruption--it’s basically the most sleep I’ve gotten in weeks.”

“...Helping us?” Dora echoed, confused.

“You guys absorb ectoplasm passively, right? Usually from the Ghost Zone, but since we’re not in the Ghost Zone, the only other sources of ectoplasm are, well, each other.” Danny shrugged, “This light is just a big concentrated ball of the stuff. I don’t mind if you guys absorb it till it goes out by itself.”

Love lifted her head, her eyes narrowed in concern. Dora stared at her half-ghost friend incredulously, her eyebrows furrowed.

“But--” the girl frowned, “that’s  _your_  energy, Sir Phantom. We can’t just...”

“Unlike you guys, I don’t need the constant ambient ectoplasm to recharge,” Danny held up his hand to stop her, “I’m only  _half_  ghost remember? And I spend most all of my time in the Real World, so my body never really adapted to the Ghost Zone atmosphere. I have other ways of recharging.”

Dora gasped in realization. “Sleeping and eating!”

“Yep,” Danny grinned, crossing his arms. “I can sustain myself on my human half--and if I’m tired as a human, I’m still tired as a ghost, it doesn’t make a difference. They’re connected. So if I use up energy as a ghost, I can recharge it as a human, and it’s the same effect as if I were absorbing ectoplasm from the air.”

“Brilliant, Sir Phantom, brilliant,” Dora shook her head fondly, “I do apologize for the inconvenience though.”

“Nah, I don’t mind. Absorb away!” Danny laughed.

 _“You both still need rest, though.”_  Love rolled her eyes, opening one wing and shifting her laying position now that Dora wasn’t on her back anymore.  _“Well, come on then.”_

The ghostly teenagers blinked over at her, looking down at the patch of rock Love was curled around, her wing positioned like an overhang--similar to how she would offer them shelter on rainy nights. The space to sit was smaller than their usual camps, but neither teen minded, grinning as they flew down and landed on the small patch, sitting against the curve of Love’s warm stomach.

“Thanks, Love,” Dora said softly, patting Love’s foreleg next to her.

Love purred soothingly, wrapping her tail around her so that it was laying over the pair’s legs like a heavy blanket.  _“Sleep, little ones. We’ll all be fine in the morning.”_

Danny lifted his hands, lowering his light orb into the little cavity under Love’s wing as she folded it over them, both the light and Love’s body keeping them warm. Dora was already asleep moments later, slumped against Love’s torso and resting her head on Danny’s shoulder.

“You go ahead and sleep--I’ll keep watch, for once,” Danny told Love, giving his motherly friend a stern look when she looked like she was about to reprimand him. She stayed quiet, whimpering a little in worry. “No. I promise I’ll be fine. Ghosts absorb energy faster in their sleep, so go ahead and recharge. I’ll wake you up when I’m about to conk out myself, okay?”

Love sighed, laying her head down, her jaw resting in Dora’s lap almost protectively.  _“Okay then. Rest well, my hatchlings. Rest well.”_

~~~

There was something soft beneath her head, and Dora moaned quietly as she snuggled into it, content. The ground beneath her was hard, however, and she rolled over, trying to get a little more comfortable. After a few moments, she realized she wouldn’t be getting back to sleep any time soon, and opened her eyes a slit--something fuzzy and red greeted her vision, and she blearily recognized it as Danny’s blanket.

“Good morning, Princess Dora!” Danny waved cheerfully as he saw his friend stir, “Sleep well?”

“Rarely do I ever need sleep, but well enough, I suppose. I certainly feel better after yesterday.” Dora yawned, sitting up and stretching her arms out over her head. “Good morning...?” She blinked her eyes open slowly, taking in the scene before her.

Danny was in his human form, standing near the edge of the sea rock. Love was hovering just off the side, blowing a small stream of fire out from the small gap in her lips--Danny was currently holding out a fish to the fire, trying to cook it without getting his own hands burned.

The sight was comical, and Dora couldn’t help but laugh. “What are you  _doing_?”

“Cooking breakfast. You know, I think I’m getting sick of fish,” Danny commented offhandedly, “I miss chicken and junk food, and heck, I even miss Sam’s vegetarian food. I’d do anything for like, a bag of chips or something.”

The ghostly princess giggled, shaking her head. “Well, we  _are_  certainly spending more time here than we originally planned...”

“Yeah, but no new portals have opened up, I checked this morning,” Danny shrugged, pulling his hand back and looking at the fish. Love stopped firing, snorting smoke from her nostrils. “I kind of miss home. I wonder how long we’ve been gone to them?”

Dora gazed at him sympathetically. “I’m sure not that much time has passed. It will be fine.”

Danny nodded, taking a bite of the fish--after so many days of eating only that, he’d gotten used to any slightly burnt tastes. “So, what’s the plan for today, girls?”

Love flapped her wings as she moved closer, gripping the side of the rock with all four paws instead of landing on the flatter part, seeing as there wasn’t much room. Dora eyed her critically, checking on her injuries--most of the wounds were starting to scar over, and as soon as her scales grew back into place, she would look as good as new.

“Hmm,” Dora hummed, looking down at herself as Danny plopped down next to her, taking the blanket and wrapping it around himself--it was colder than normal out and he was human, after all. Dora glanced at him as he ate his breakfast and tried not to shiver, then went back to examining her body to see how she had healed from the previous day--she was in a state similar to Love, her wounds already scarring over.

 _“I’m not entirely sure where we are--I’ve never ventured to such icy terrain before. Even the ocean near my home did not freeze over so solidly in the winter,”_  Love murmured as she looked around,  _“I want to start heading to my original nesting grounds, but...”_

“Love wants to check out her old home, but she’s not sure what direction it’s in from here.”

“Oh. Well, it was in the west last time we checked, and the sun sets to the west,” Danny said after swallowing a mouthful of fish, “why don’t we head in that general direction? Then at night I can check the stars and we’ll have a more definite sense of where we’re going.”

Love blinked at him in surprise.  _“Even if I knew this was one of your skills, you never cease to surprise me, somehow.”_

“Love is still impressed by your navigational skills,” Dora chuckled, “and I do believe, Sir Phantom, that that is an excellent plan.”

 _“Are you up for flying?”_  Love asked Dora in concern,  _“If you’re not, I’d be happy to carry you on my back.”_

Dora’s face morphed into a look of shock at Love’s humble offer. Danny blinked, looking between Love and Dora when Dora only continued staring instead of actually answering.

“What’d she say?”

“She just offered to let me ride on her back.”

Danny’s expression mirrored Dora’s in an instant, and he looked to the Night Fury queen in awed disbelief. “Wow, really? What happened to it being a disgrace to be ridden?” He asked with a slightly mischievous grin.

 _“Curious may have changed my mind,”_  Love snorted, rolling her peridot green eyes.

“Well, if you’re okay with it, then it’d be appreciated,” Dora smiled, standing up, “I’d like to conserve energy.”

Love nodded, letting go of the rock and flapping her wings to hover. She shifted and flew around the rock, positioning herself so Dora could get on easier. Danny grinned and quickly finished his food, packing up his blanket and transforming. He joined them in the sky, his legs merging into his ghost tail.

“Hey, since we’re all the way out in the open like this... wanna race?” He grinned, “You and Love versus me?”

Dora and Love exchanged a glance, the former lifting an eyebrow. “A race, Sir Phantom?”

“Yeah! I mean, we saw how fast Toothless could fly. Love’s faster, right?” Danny motioned with his hand, beginning to fly in the direction the sun was moving. Love hummed thoughtfully, following him without a second thought. “My top speed is like, two hundred miles per hour, or it was the last time I clocked it. Never really had a friendly race with anyone before--not too many ghosts can catch up with me, or at least not any I’m on good terms with.”

“True, I can’t fly all that fast,” Dora mused, “I can fly for long periods of time, but not ever quite so fast as you...” She looked down at Love, patting her neck. “What do you say?”

 _“You’d better hold on tight.”_  Love smirked.

“That’s a yes, then,” Dora laughed, looking up with a confident nod. “Where’s the finish line, Sir Phantom?”

“I dunno, first island we see?” Danny shrugged, slowing down to fly neck-in-neck with the pair, “Ready? Dora you call start!”

“Okay,” Dora nodded, shifting so that she was practically laying horizontally on Love’s back, wrapping her arms around Love’s neck as securely as she could. She took a deep breath, then shouted, “Ready... go!”

The two shot off, laughing and screaming in delight.

~~~

It was early afternoon when the trio finally found land--Love beat Danny there, sitting proudly with an almost smug expression when Danny finally landed.

“Oookay,” Danny panted, falling onto the ground with a tired laugh, “trying to beat a Night Fury in a straight course? Not a smart idea.”

Love leaned down and nudged him, rolling her eyes.

“She’s nearly twice as fast as you,” Dora giggled, sliding off from Love’s back. She bent down beside him, offering him a hand. “That means... she goes maybe three or four hundred miles per hour, in your terms?”

“Yeah. That’s crazy!” Danny grinned, grabbing her hand and allowing her to pull him up. “Good race, though. I don’t think I’ve ever flown that long or that fast before.” With that, dazzling white rings appeared around his waist, the light traveling over him and changing his appearance. “I think I’m going to need an extra big lunch to make up for all of that!”

“Well, it’s good that you can stretch your limits every once and a while.” Dora stifled her giggle this time, letting go of his hand. She turned to their third companion, nodding at her. “Love, do you mind?”

Love crooned, leaning over to nuzzle them, then jumped over them, diving into the sea.

“You know, Sir Phantom, it’s rare that you meet someone who can outmatch you. You’re already quite powerful.” Dora commented.

“Yeah, it’s kind of refreshing.” Danny grinned widely.

Love came up from the water, crawling onto the beach and shaking herself off, causing Danny and Dora to yelp and hold up their arms to protect their faces from the spray of sea foam.

“Gee, thanks,” Danny said dryly, phasing the water off of him before it got too cold.

Love warbled at him, still smug, and her throat shifted a few times as she lowered her head and regurgitated four fish into a pile in front of him.

Danny cringed in disgust. “You know, I can see it like a thousand times and I’ll still think that’s gross as--”

“Danny!” Dora scolded him, crossing her arms sternly.

“What, it’s true,” Danny made a gagging face, reaching down to grab one of the fish.

“It’s also rude.” Dora huffed, shaking her head.

“Right, sorry,” The half-ghost boy grinned sheepishly, moving over to find a seat on a nearby rock. “And thanks, Love. Don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Love chortled, laying down near him. Dora snickered, translating, “You’d try to fish for yourself and probably starve to death,” she paused, then added, “er, full-death.”

“Hey, I’m not that incompetent,” Danny pouted, “I’ve fished and camped before. What about you, huh, Princess? Ever had to fend for yourself in the wild?”

Dora opened her mouth to answer, paused, then closed it when she thought better of making a fool of herself, pouting.

“Thought so,” Danny teased, holding out the fish to Love. Love rolled her eyes, shooting a small fire, just like she had done that morning, and Danny once again tried to cook the fish without cooking his hands too.

Dora sighed and sat down next to him, looking down at her wounds again. “I’d probably look like this if I ever tried to live in the wild on my own for even a day,” she mused, picking at the tears in her dress.

“Yup, you’re a royal mess.” Dora shoved Danny lightly at this, but he didn’t budge, grinning at her. The boy went back to focusing on the fish in his hand, pulling it out of the fire as Love stopped shooting. “You are! I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look so... well, beat up. And I’ve beat you up before, so I should know.”

“Hmph!” Dora huffed indignantly, crossing her arms. “Well then, I’ll have to fix that.”

Danny blinked, looking up. “What are you talking abo--”

He stopped and stared as Dora’s form changed, growing with a slightly fiery glow--and for a moment, he thought she would change into a dragon again. But that was impossible, he still had her amulet! So how...

His jaw dropped as the fiery glow faded away, because the place Princess Dorathea once sat was now occupied by a very clean-looking, human-shaped,  _familiar_  figure.

“ _Dora Mattingly_?” He blurted out in surprise, and the older-looking blonde woman grinned brightly at him. Behind him, Love whined in shock, confused by Dora’s strange appearance.

“Glad you remember.” Dora chirped in that too-happy voice that Sam had  _hated_  back when Dora was running that beauty pageant. Cobalt blue eyes flickered to Love, the smile becoming softer. “Yes, Love, it’s still me.”

Danny gaped for a moment longer, watching as Dora looked down at her blue-gloved hands, humming contemplatively. She raised one hand, brushing aside the long loose locks and revealing that she still had the greenish, still-healing bite mark on her fair skin. She touched it gently and winced.

“Well, it could be worse,” she decided, touching her stomach next--the area was covered by her currently pristine dress now, but it was obvious from the way her face contorted that she was still healing there too.

“Wait, but--how?” Danny asked incredulously, unknowingly voicing Love’s question as well.

“What, did you think this form was an illusion of some sort?” Dora lifted an eyebrow at him, “You’re not the only ghost who can shape shift, Sir Phantom. Need I remind you of Penelope Spectra?”

“But, I thought--” the black-haired boy stuttered, “I thought it was, like, that ring you had back then, or something! One of your crazy ghost artifacts! You even said so, once!”

“Oh, that ring? It was just a charm that let me take a ‘human’ form, so you wouldn’t detect me,” Dora chuckled. “It just allowed me to sneak past your ghost sense. The appearance of the human form, however, was completely my own.”

Danny blinked slowly, looking her up and down. She did look like the woman who came to his school two years ago--she was tall, peach-skinned, and maybe in her mid-twenties. Unlike that version of Dora, though, this one also still had that ghostly aura around her, a faint white glow that pulsed weakly at the edges of her body. With Dora as drained of energy as she was, the aura could easily be ignored, and she could definitely still pass as human.

“It’s... okay, I admit, you do clean up well,” he finally said after a long time, turning away and eating his lunch. He made a face at the fish, but otherwise didn’t complain. “Question--why do you have that form?”

“My obsession, in the simplest terms, is to grow up.” Dora said nonchalantly, earning a bewildered look from Danny and Love, but she ignored them and continued, “Specialty ghost powers develop based on our obsessions, if you recall. As a ghost stuck forever in a body just shy of sixteen years old, cursed never to grow up or amount to anything more than a subservient princess by my older brother, the only power I could logically develop to aid my obsession was one which allowed me to at least appear as a grown-up.”

“So you’re like... the opposite of Spectra. You can change shape to be older.” Danny blinked, “Uh, cool? How come you never told me before?”

The blonde woman pulled her hair over her shoulder, beginning to braid it idly. “You never asked,” she said simply, shrugging one shoulder. “It’s only temporary, though--if I get weak, my form defaults back to my teenager self.”

“I thought your dragon stuff was your specialty power,” Danny admitted, “since ghosts usually only have one or two, I thought...”

“I was able to turn into a dragon as a human as well,” Dora mused, “like Love’s plasma blasts, those were considered natural abilities.”

Love leaned her head over, sniffing at Dora experimentally. Dora smiled, letting go of her hair and reaching up to pet her. Love nosed at her hand, making a content sound when she was satisfied that Dora still smelled like herself.

“Yes, Love, I do still reek of demon,” Dora laughed lightly, stroking her scales, “I may look more human but I am certainly still a ghost.”

Danny snorted, “I thought you were okay with humans now, anyhow, Love?”

Love burbled at him with a somewhat sarcastic glare, and Dora grinned toothily and shook her head. “She says there are still some things she’s getting used to.”

The half-ghost boy rolled his eyes, tossing aside his fish bones when he was done eating his fish, then reaching for a second one. Without needing to be asked, Love shot a stream of fire next to him, and he held out the fish to it.

“Okay, so if the dragon stuff is a natural ability,” Danny started saying, “then the Amulet of Aragon...?”

“It’s a part of myself,” Dora explained, “I died with it, it came with me to the afterlife, it’s an ingrained part of my being. Physically, it’s an artifact I took from my dead body, but spiritually it’s never left my soul.”

“But you can’t transform without it,” the boy said slowly, taking the fish out of the fire and checking on it. Love closed her jaw, wrinkling her nose before she snorted some stray smoke through her nostrils again.

“No, I couldn’t--I can’t. That is also an ingrained part of how I knew my body worked, so that stuck with me too.”

“Then how come you can breathe fire and stuff without it?” Danny asked curiously, taking a bite of the fish. Love hummed with a similar curiosity, idly looking around in boredom.

“That was a specialty power I developed at some point,” Dora grinned. “It was something like an evolutionary trait after I realized that, as a ghost, I could be more dragon than human if I wanted to be. It was simply an adaptation of the abilities I already had as a dragon.”

“Huh. Wicked.”

Love’s abruptly stilled as the pair talked, her ears twitching as a troubled frown crossed her face. The frill-like nubs on the sides of her face flared with piqued interest, her nostrils expanding as she inhaled and caught the familiar scent of living beings. Her frills picked up vibrations in the air, and she tilted her head curiously. The sound, distant but coming closer, felt a lot like the roars of dragons. Was there a herd nearby?

"Hey, Love!” Danny called her attention back, poking her side jovially. She blinked and turned back to him, noting the uncooked fish in his hand--he was on thirds already, apparently. “Your head’s up in the clouds. What’s up?”

“Thinking about your kids again?” Dora asked softly.

Love shook her head, warbling her answer before she shot another stream of flame or Danny to cook his fish in, a little annoyed. If their camp wasn’t so temporary, she would have told him to just make a fire pit like he usually did.

“Your pack mates? What about them?” The blonde ghost asked curiously, and Danny shot her a confused look. “She said she was thinking about her pack mates.”

Love stopped firing after a moment, turning her head to answer Dora. The blonde ghost perked up. “She scented a passing herd of something--she thinks they’re... Sea Thunderers? I don’t know which dragons those are in the manual, but she says that hearing wild dragons nearby made her think of her old pack. They might be at her old home too.”

“Cool, that’s great!” Danny’s eyes widened in awe, pausing before he started his third serving of his lunch, “What’re they like? I mean, I know you had a Skrill and a Silver Phantom in your pack, but you didn’t tell us much about them.”

Love chuckled, purring as she began to tell the pair about her friends--about the Skrill and her temperamental mate, the selfish Flightmare brothers who only shared their food with her occasionally because she was their queen, and the wizened Silver Phantom who was just as aged as Love herself. She talked about the young Dancing Draugr she had fostered when his mother died, and the Night Fury Daring before he left her nest to find his own place in the world.

She was so distracted by recounting her wistful memories that she didn’t notice that the draconic roars she had heard earlier were close enough to distinguish as cries of anguish. She didn’t notice that the cries were accompanied by the smell of humans.

She didn’t notice until Dora’s head perked up, picking up the sounds of human voices, and she snapped her gaze behind her in alert. There was a boat coming toward the island they were resting on--which could have been easily dismissed as a ship needing to dock to rest, had it not been for the menacing device on the side of the ship aimed right toward her. The man behind the device was smirking as he pulled the lever, and her eyes widened in panic.

With an hasty roar, she jumped to her feet, lunging and curling around the shocked Dora and Danny, her wings folding around them like a shield as a net hit her back. She could feel heavy iron weights pinning it down, rough rope stretching across her skin. A second one joined it and she curled around her two friends tighter.

“Love!” Danny yelped in alarm, “You okay?! What just happened?”

Love growled angrily, turning her head to look at the men on the boat as they anchored. Below her, she felt Dora reach up and touch her chest gently.

“No, you mustn’t do anything like that! Don’t phase out of the nets--we shouldn’t reveal that we are ghosts!” She whispered urgently, “We are weak right now, Love, they won’t notice we’re ghosts. Let’s be careful--we can all escape easily if we need to, but let’s not draw attention to ourselves!”

“What’d she say?” Danny demanded, worried. Love looked down at him, her growls simmering down into whimpers as she curled her foreleg around him to bring him closer to her chest. 

The men were coming onto the island, wading through the shallow water and onto the beach. Danny peered out the gap in Love’s wings, catching sight of a man with slicked, dark hair, a sharp chin with blue-gray tattoos on it, and a thick fur vest that didn’t cover his bulging muscles--and if the muscles weren’t intimidating enough, he had a long sword tied to his hip and a mean, eager grin on his face.

“She wants to burn all those ‘puny humans’,” Dora muttered, “they’re dragon trappers. We can hear the dragons trapped in their ship. She doesn’t want us to get hurt, she wants us to stay here where she can protect us.”

Love looked up and snarled threateningly as the men came closer, wrapping her wings tighter around herself to keep Dora and Danny hidden. The half dozen men flinched back, except for one--the one Danny had spotted: the man with the sword.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here,” the obvious leader said smugly--Dora detected a hint of an accent in his voice, perhaps Irish or Scottish. Either way, she already didn’t like his attitude. “Look at this, lads... it looks like we’ve caught ourselves a  _Night Fury_! And it’s a big one! Drago will be pleased with this catch. I heard he killed all of them.”

Love narrowed her eyes unsheathed her teeth, opening her mouth and hissing--a greenish gas began to seep out as her throat lit up blue.

The man’s eyes sharpened as he ran forward, shouting at his men, “Muzzle it! Make sure it can’t fire!”

The whine of Love’s shot was the man’s only warning as she roared and let loose the bullet-like fireball that burned clean through the net. He dodged with impressive reflexes, still coming toward her at a daring speed. Love tore at the net with her teeth, ripping it open wide as she tossed her head, trying to throw it off. The man jumped on her, along with two others from the side, pushing her head down forcefully--the leader was jamming an elbow into her neck, making it hard for her to move her head. She growled in protest, writhing under him.

“Love!” Danny gasped, crouching as Love was forced down, but before he could move to help her, Dora grabbed his arm and dragged him back.

“Don’t fight,” Dora whispered, tense, “even if they’ve caught her, if they’re trying to take her, she’s too big for their boat. If they’re planning to kill her, it won’t do any good, she’s dead already. We just have to wait until they settle down.”

“But...”

“Hey, Eret,” someone shouted from the side of the great black beast, poking at her wing. She hissed, opening the wing slightly to push him away, then tightened her wrap again. “Is this normal?”

The black-haired man, Eret, looked over, still holding Love down as his other men tied up her muzzle, trying to avoid her snapping jaws. “No--most dragons use their wings to intimidate.” A sinister grin spread across his lips as he quickly realized why this particular Titan Wing hadn’t. “This one’s protecting something!” He laughed gleefully, looking down at Love’s constricted green eye next to him, “What, got a baby in there or something? Oh, Drago will love that even more!”

She glared at him, her message clear: “Stay away from them.”

Eret let up when his fellow trappers finally had Love muzzled, stepping away as she tossed her head violently, trying to head-butt him. He kicked her down, eliciting a grunt. Smirking in satisfaction, he moved around her, pulling out his sword.

“Tie up its neck and legs. Watch the tail! You two, help me lift this thing--let’s see what she’s hiding, eh?” He ordered his men, jamming his hand under the edge of Love’s wing. Love sneered, struggling against the three men trying to lift her wing, but they were strong, and they managed to get it up a few feet--enough for Eret to crouch and lean his head down to peek under.

“What the--what’s  _this_?” He asked with obvious surprise, his brown eyes meeting two nearly glowing pairs of blue. The first belonged to a young black-haired boy in a thick, fur-lined coat, who was glaring daggers at him with his ice-colored eyes. The other was a calmer but still chilling stormy gaze, staring hard at him from the pretty face of a blonde woman in a pale blue dress.

“Humans?” He stepped back in disbelief. The dragon was curled protectively around two  _humans_. And just like the dragon, they did  _not_  look happy.

“Love, he’s seen us already, let up,” Danny muttered to the black dragon. “Let’s see if we can’t get out of this with wit.”

Love grunted begrudgingly, lifting her wing all the way, surprising the men who had been trying to push it up. They stumbled back in surprise, looking to see what their boss had seen, their eyes wide.

“What did he say?” One of the men asked, confused--he didn’t understand English, so that wasn’t a surprise.

Love growled and shifted, getting to her feet and spreading her wings, which effectively proved that the net was useless, since it didn’t do much to restrain her movements. Danny got up from his crouch, ignoring the men’s shocked sputters as he came forward, silently pushing the net aside so Love could shake it off.

“Hey!” Eret shouted, “Tie her wings, lads!” He waved his sword, “Don’t let them get away! You three, crossbows out--aim for those two!”

The men scrambled to toss ropes and bolas over the dragon, pulling her down again. She fought back, whipping her tail at anyone who came too near. Dora stood up too, brushing off her dress before she turned to Love, murmuring, “Just stay still for now--act submissive. We’ll get you out of this--hopefully without hurting anyone.”

Love narrowed her eyes angrily--she obviously didn’t like this plan. There were too many weapons aimed in Danny and Dora’s direction, and that made her nervous. She wanted to burn these foolish humans, but Danny and Dora were apparently against killing them, even if the trappers obviously had little care for others’ well being.

“Who are you?” Eret demanded, his eyes narrowed suspiciously and his sword held out. “What are you, this dragon’s food?”

Danny glanced at him, smirking. Even Eret knew that they weren’t Love’s next meal--they were far too calm around her, unafraid and even helpful. The blue-eyed boy glared at the ropes holding her down, then at the men with a ferocity equal to that of Love’s. Dora stepped out from under Love’s wing, standing tall and regal, which made Eret pause.

“I could ask the same of you. Why are you trying to capture this dragon?” She asked in her accented Norse.

“I am Eret, Son of Eret, the greatest dragon trapper alive!” The brown-eyed man smirked confidently, regaining his composure. “And that,” he pointed his sword at Love, “that is going to be the greatest thing I’ve ever sold!”

“Sold? To who?” Dora frowned.

“Drago Bludvist, of course,” Eret snarled, “but shouldn’t you already know that? To be so comfortable with a dragon... you must be a dragon rider. Are you in cahoots with that thief?”

Danny blinked, losing his glare for a moment. These guys knew of dragon riders--but wasn’t Hiccup the first one? And he’d only started training Toothless a week ago. Eret spoke as if he were intimately familiar with another dragon rider--one who was apparently a thief.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Dora frowned, “but you’re right, this dragon is ours. So please let it go.”

Love snorted, giving Dora a pointed look. Danny shifted his gaze and met her eyes, shaking his head with a frown. “Just go with it, Love.”

“No way we’re letting it go--you stupid dragon riders have been ruining my operations for years!” Eret snarled, “And what’s that kid saying? Planning something behind our backs, is he?”

“He doesn’t speak Norse, please excuse him,” Dora deadpanned, “we’re not from around here, you see. Our dragon is how we got here, and we need her to go back.”

“Fat chance,” Eret smirked, “you won’t need her when you’re not going home.”

Dora narrowed her eyes, shifting her hands and pulling on her gloves almost casually. Behind her, Danny slowly spread his feet, his hands flexing at his sides. Dora glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, then looked back at Eret in challenge. “Was that a threat?”

“You bet it was. We’ll take your dragon over your dead bodies!” Eret glanced at his bowmen, pointing his sword as he commanded, “Fire!”

Danny reacted in an instant, diving to dodge one arrow as Dora side-stepped the second, and to the surprise of the third bowman, Danny clapped his hands and  _caught_  the third arrow before it hit him. He smirked, breaking it in half as the men scrambled to reload.

“Dora, free Love! I’ve got these guys!”

Dora nodded, running toward the Night Fury and ducking a few men who tried to stab her with their swords. She pushed them aside, making it to Love’s side and starting to pull at the ropes.

Danny rushed at one of the bowmen, pushing him back and grabbing his weapon, yanking it from his hands as he swept his leg and tripped the man. He spun around and whacked the second with the crossbow, kicking his leg and shoving him into the third man. He back-flipped to dodge a man charging at him, and the man yelped and tripped over his fallen comrades. He smirked--he might not have as much endurance as Fenton, but two years of practice and several situations where he was forced to stay human had taught him how to fight no matter the form.

Love got to her feet again, tossing her head and easily shaking off any trappers trying to hold her down. She retracted her teeth, closing her jaw tighter, making just enough room to loosen the ropes--and Dora was at her side in a second, pulling them off.

“I’m going to need a knife if we’re going to get those other ropes off the ‘normal’ way,” the blonde said hastily, ducking when she saw Love taking a breath.

The queen dragon screeched loudly, knocking over Eret, who had been charging toward Dora from behind. Dora rose from her crouch with a grin, her heels clicking as she strode over to his fallen form and leaning down. “Mind if I take this?” She asked sweetly, reaching for the sword, but before she could grab it, Eret recovered, snatching her wrist and pulling her to the ground, rolling so he was on top of her.

“Shame you’re a dragon rider--you have such a pretty face,” he sneered, raising the sword over his head to stab down. He was slightly unnerved when Dora smiled.

“Thank you, but I wouldn’t think it’s a shame,” she said calmly, “because my dragon friend protects this pretty face.”

“What?” Eret gasped, twisting his body to look over his shoulder, catching sight of Love charging up a plasma blast. He dove to the side, just barely dodging the blue-purple shot as it zoomed past the place his head used to be.

“Cutting it a little close there, Love!” Dora called, rolling to her feet. She looked around--Danny was locked in a battle with four men--he looked like he was doing fine on his own, so her eyes flitted over him without worry--and there were two heading toward her with a dagger and a spear. Eret, enraged by Love’s attack, had turned his attention to her. “A dagger will do,” she decided, lunging toward the man with the dagger, surprising him.

Using a little ghostly strength, she stepped on his foot with the sharp end of her heel and kneed him in the stomach, yanking the weapon out of his hand. Ignoring the man with the spear, simply running past him as he couldn’t react fast enough due to his shock, she headed towards Eret and Love.

Without missing a beat, she shoved Eret forward. Dora took satisfaction on using his head as a stepping stone, slamming his face into the ground and putting him in a daze as she hopped over him and made her way to Love. She cut the ropes hastily, getting them thin enough so that Love could just snap them if she opened her wings.

She was nearly done with the last one when she heard something--a low-pitched roar, rumbling deep into her core and shaking the ground under her feet. She froze, the dagger slipping from her hand as it fell slack. The light seemed brighter as her eyes constricted, but her vision blurred as her mind slipped, and she only vaguely registered that she caught Love’s ears flattening out of the corner of her eye.

Panic was written across the dragon’s features--she roared and snapped her wings open, freeing herself of the ropes. Danny, noticing her unrestrained state, jumped over one of the men he was fighting, kicking him in the head as he ran towards his friends. He knocked out the man with the spear along the way, grinning triumphantly as the other men stumbled dizzily when they tried to give chase.

“Dora, Love, let’s fly!” He shouted, reaching them just as Eret was getting up. He paused when he noticed Love tense, her eyes on something just off the shore. “Dora, what’s Love--”

He cut himself off when he noticed Dora’s eyes--slit like a wolf’s and fiery red instead of blue. He gasped, grabbing her shoulders. “No, not again... is it the Red Death again?! Come on, snap out of it!”

Love shook her head, taking a deep breath. She spread her wings wide, glaring fiercely at the ocean, ignoring that the frantic cries under the deck of Eret’s ship suddenly quieted.

“Rush ‘em, lads!” Eret ordered his still standing men as he readied his sword and charged, aiming to take out the two “dragon riders” while they were preoccupied, but as soon as his foot hit the ground, he was knocked back by Love’s lashing tail.

“Dora! Dora!” Danny shook his friend harshly, “Hey! Come on--Love, we’ve gotta do--”

His eyes widened when he looked up and saw that Love was glowing, patches of ultramarine lighting up the panther-like spots on her black skin in a way that reminded him of hot coals. She reared back, her forepaws clawing at the air before she slammed them down with enough force to create craters in the sand, letting out the most fearsome roar Danny had ever heard.

The world felt like it was trembling around him, and he instinctively reached up to cover his ears, because even if he was used to loud, earth-shattering sounds, he was still right next to Love, and her roar hurt his sensitive ears.

Beside him, Dora gasped, shaking her head and widening her eyes. “Wha--”

Danny dropped his hands as Love’s roar died down, relieved to see that Dora’s eyes were back to their normal blue and that she was responsive again. “Dora! You’re okay!”

Love shook her head, the blue glow fading from her skin, and she leaned her head down, nudging the pair frantically.

“We’re both okay,” Dora nodded at her, running her hand through her hair as she cleared her head completely. “How...”

“Hey! You’re not getting away that easy!” Eret screamed, scrambling to his feet and dashing forward.

“Explanations can come later,” Danny interrupted her, spinning around and taking note of the men who were still running towards them--five trappers, including Eret. “Let’s get out of here, now!”

Dora nodded, not needing to be told twice, and Love lowered herself to let them get on without a second thought, her wings spreading out. As soon as Danny and Dora were gripping the spines on her back, she took off vertically, a cloud of sand kicking up under them and knocking over the remaining dragon trappers.

Love hastily climbed higher and higher into the sky, giving a banshee-like cry as something shot out of the clouds right in front of them. She flapped wildly, backing up just in time to dodge it, and Dora and Danny yelped in surprise at the sudden jerking movement.

Danny looked down to see what nearly hit them, his eyes widening when he saw a huge orange dragon diving toward the island they just vacated. There was someone hanging onto its back--Danny couldn’t see them clearly, but he saw armor and a long staff.

“What the--who is that?!” He asked in surprise. Was this the dragon riding thief Eret had been talking about?

Love growled warily, but she wasn’t paying attention to the orange dragon as it roared and dive-bombed the trappers on the island with a burst of fire.

“What’s there?” Dora asked urgently, following the Night Fury’s gaze to the open ocean.

Love replied with a hiss, and Dora’s eyes widened. Danny’s gaze snapped back to them as Love’s panic shot through his arms.

“Another alpha species!?”


	11. The Noble Ones

Love glared down at the dark shape just beneath the surface of the water, a rumble at the back of her throat being the only sign of her escaping panic. She felt Dora and Danny’s hands pressed against the back of her neck, confusion and worry jolting through her--they were confused about her panic, and worried about her and for her.

“There’s an alpha down there?” Danny asked, “What kind?”

“We don’t know,” Dora replied uncertainly, “Love seems worried though.”

 _“It could be a Coral Seer,”_  Love murmured, searching the seas suspiciously.

An explosion momentarily distracted her, and her peridot gaze was torn away, looking back to the island in the distance below to see that the brown-orange dragon had blown up the insolent humans’ ship. Three dragons flew from the flames of the wreckage, flying off in a frenzy, their flight paths wild and uncertain, as if they didn’t know where to go.

Love’s ears perked and then flattened as she once again heard a deep roar, muted by the rolling waves but visible from the bubbles boiling where the shadow lay. Whining a little, and hoping Dora wouldn’t be affected by it, Love turned and continued flying upward, breaking through the clouds before she straightened out and settled into a fast glide. She didn’t dare fly too high over the top of the cloud cover, remembering what Danny had said about the air at high altitudes being too thin for normal humans to breathe--and currently, Danny was in his human form, so she didn’t want to risk anything.

“Dora?” Danny was speaking again--the dragon girl was too quiet, and that worried the Wind Walker mother. “Hey, Dora, you okay?”

“Uh... yes,” Dora finally responded, and Love turned her head to look back at the pair--Dora’s eyes were flickering between normal and constricted, and she was holding her head as if it hurt. “Sorry, I--it’s nothing. I’ll be okay.”

Love’s lips twitched down in a troubled frown, flaring the nubs on her head and neck to catch the distant rumbling below. She narrowed her eyes as she actually listened to the call this time.

_“Calm calm calm--you are safe, you are safe.”_

She flew over a break in the clouds, and she looked down and behind her, catching sight of the commotion below.

The large orange dragon had turned from the shipwreck and the stranded humans. He flew after the three freed dragons as they hovered, listening to the voice under the waves.

Distantly, she heard the larger dragon bark,  _“Follow me!”_

The clouds swallowed her vision again, though, and she looked forward with a determined, puzzled expression.

“Love?” Dora’s hand traced along the length of her neck soothingly, “Are you okay?”

 _“Fine,”_  Love grunted, not expanding.  _“I’ll be better if we get further away from here.”_

Dora hesitated, stroking her neck again. “...Whoever that alpha is, I don’t think they were necessarily bad.”

Love shook her head.  _“No. They weren’t,”_  she agreed reluctantly,  _“they were a king. Their words proved that.”_

Dora blinked at her, opening her mouth to say something, but Danny interrupted from his seat behind her.

“You were nearly controlled again, how was that not bad?” The blue-eyed boy asked with a deep frown, concern clear on his features.

“It... it was different,” Dora explained slowly, “when the Red Death tried to control me... I felt I couldn’t disobey, and it was constantly commanding my attention. When this dragon’s voice reached me, it got into my head just the same, but... it was only there to get my attention and calm me. It didn’t stay.”

“Calm you?” Danny asked incredulously. “Why would...”

“According to Love, this dragon is a king.” Dora looked back at him, “Dragon kings are protectors, not tyrants like the Red Death near Berk.”

 _“I think the call was for the other dragons, the ones those trappers caught,”_  Love frowned,  _“the king must have been trying to save part of their colony, or something along those lines.”_

Dora didn’t feel the need to translate that part, but she nodded in agreement, gripping Love’s spine fin just a little tighter.

Danny bit his lip in thought as he threw a cautious look over his shoulder. “So that alpha dragon was only trying to protect--uh, I guess there were dragons those trappers caught,” he nodded as he came to the same conclusion. “Okay, but what about that dragon rider?”

Love blinked, glancing over her shoulder at him.  _“What dragon rider?”_

“There was someone riding on the back of the dragon that nearly ran into us,” Dora answered, her eyebrows raising in surprise. “You didn’t notice?”

_“I was more focused on the king.”_

“Love didn’t know there was a rider?” Danny blinked, “I mean--I was surprised too, I thought Hiccup was the first...?”

“He was the first  _known_ ,” Dora corrected him, earning an incredulous look from both of her friends.

“You knew about other riders before him?” Danny asked incredulously. “You know who that dragon riding thief is!”

“It wasn’t as prominent in the dragon manuals, and the history of the archipelago in this area is written in a book I don’t own,” Dora shook her head, “but there was a note on the page about Stormcutters--it was one of the first dragons to ever be ridden. Seeing as Hiccup was the first known rider, but his first tamed was a Night Fury--well, you can make your own conclusions.”

“Stormcutter... was that what that dragon was?” Danny looked over his shoulder cautiously, “But what was it doing down there...?”

Love’s ears stood upright in alert as she caught the distinct sound of powerful, flapping wings underneath her. She narrowed her eyes, looking down as if she could see through the clouds and what hid beneath them.

_“You could ask him yourself. It seems he wants a word with us.”_

Dora looked confused by Love’s soft burble, looking around. “That dragon is following us? Where is it?”

 _“Come out!”_  Love called into the wide open sky,  _“I do not appreciate being snuck up on!”_

A roar just behind her answered her,  _“Apologies. Your demand to stay away earlier made me wary.”_

Dora gasped, and Danny turned his head sharply. Love halted in her flight, spinning around in the air just as the dragon burst from the clouds. Now that Love could see him clearly, she could easily identify him as a Flat-faced Fourwing--a very proud, regal creature. She was familiar with them--Love had befriended some in her younger days, before their species started dying out just as her own had. This one seemed about the same size as her, but as impressive as the length of his body was, Love’s wingspan clearly dwarfed his.

As the Fourwing steadied himself and blew away the clouds that clung to him like spider webs, Love zeroed in on the masked figure crouching on the Fourwing’s back, donning coverings made of dragon hide and holding a long weapon-like stick of bone and teeth. The strange human seemed surprised, judging from their scent, but otherwise they made no move.

The Fourwing, however, recoiled with wide, constricted eyes as he inhaled her scent once the clouds had stopped obscuring it.

 _“You’re a demon!”_  He hissed with a hint of fear, staring at her as if he wasn’t sure whether to fly away or freeze in place.

“Whoa--what’s wrong?” The human on his back murmured at his sudden frenzied movements, confused--their voice was muffled by the mask, but Love thought it might be female. She was whispering so quietly that Love was pretty sure she didn’t mean for anyone else but her companion to pick it up--Dora and Danny, however, exchanged a glance, having obviously heard it.

“Why’s that dragon freaking out?” Danny asked under his breath, glancing over at the Fourwing and his rider in worry.

“Remember how dragons react to things that smell like death?” Dora asked quietly in return, almost nonchalantly. Her attention was more on the rider, curious. The mysterious stranger looked back at her, shifting her gaze between the blonde and the black-haired boy.

“Oh.”

 _“I mean no harm,”_  Love told the Fourwing calmly,  _“unless you intend to harm my pack and I. Why were you following us?”_

The Fourwing struggled with his composure for a minute, before he registered that the “demon” was being civil with him. He steeled his expression, his eyes relaxing in their constriction.  _“My human, she was curious about you and your humans,”_  he eyed the pair on her back in interest,  _“as I am. I am also here on my king’s behalf, he wants to know why a king like you is here. This is not your territory.”_

Love frowned and didn’t bother to correct him on her title, but she looked at his rider, who was studying them quietly now that her mount had calmed. The human seemed to take her sudden gaze as a sign of piqued interest, because she stood, bowing deeply to the dragon queen. Love was only mildly impressed she was able to keep her balance on a dragon’s back like that.

“Greetings,” she called to the dragon, then looked at Dora and Danny, seeming suddenly nervous and unsure about what to say to them.

“Hi,” Danny waved, a little perplexed, “uh... who are you?”

The stranger paused, obviously taken aback by not only Danny’s straightforwardness in communicating with her, but also by his English--which, as Love was quickly realizing, no one in this region understood.

“Norse, Sir Phantom,” Dora reminded him, patting his hand next to hers before turning to face the woman. “Hello,” she called in the ancient language, “we wish to know who you are!”

“I wish to know of you as well.” The dragon rider made a motion with her hand, and the Fourwing flew forward somewhat reluctantly, coming closer to the trio. “Perhaps we should find a better place to talk. Will you follow?” She asked.

Dora leaned down and met Love’s eye, tilting her head inquisitively. “Shall we?”

_“As long as that king is not there.”_

The Fourwing stared at her quizzically.  _“He is taking the dragons we rescued back to our den,”_  he explained,  _“I think my human wishes us to go there as well, but it is far. There is an island on the way, we can stop there instead.”_

Love grunted her assent.  _“Then we will follow for now.”_

Dora looked up at the dragon rider with a nod when she heard Love say that. “We will follow. Lead the way.”

The woman nodded, though her gaze lingered curiously, obviously wondering why there had been such a long pause before she answered. She didn’t say anything else, making another hand movement before the Flat-faced Fourwing flapped his wings and coasted, sinking through the clouds.

Love sighed, shifting her weight to do the same, following him.

Danny patted her neck comfortingly, murmuring, “Hey, stop worrying so much, you big worrywart. She doesn’t seem that bad.”

 _“I don’t fully trust humans, halfling,”_  Love mumbled back,  _“what if this is a trap?”_

“They looked like they were saving those dragons,” Dora pointed out. “They’re not our enemies, I’d think.”

_“Well, we’ll have to see, won’t we...”_

~~~

The sand kicked up as the two dragons landed on the beach of a large, deserted island. They stood tall for a long moment, staring at each other as the dust settled. On their backs, their human--and ghostly--companions stared at each other just the same.

The Flat-Faced Fourwing finally closed his eyes and lowered his head in a respectful bow, recognizing that Love was a leader, even if she was not his own.

 _“I am called He of Noble Head and Cloud Jumper,”_  he rumbled deeply, ignoring the scent of confusion wafting from his rider.

Love bowed her head only slightly, lowering her body with a short glance behind her. Dora understood and shifted her legs over Love’s shoulder, sliding off. She stood aside and brushed dirt off her dress as Danny followed suit, jumping off gracefully.

 _“I am She who Loves Many,”_  Love lifted her head and looked down her nose quizzically,  _“Cloud Jumper is not a traditional title, Fourwing Noble One.”_

 _“It is the name my human gave me,”_  Noble purred, lifting his head and lowering his body, glancing at the woman on his back fondly,  _“my nest mates have taken to her human names as well. Many call me both, they call me Noble Cloudjumper--please call me that as well.”_

Love stared at him with piercing green eyes, but she said nothing as she nodded in acceptance of the name, glancing at Dora, who smiled in amusement as she whispered the conversation to Danny. The mysterious rider tilted her head at her companion, but she got off his back just as she had seen the others get off Love’s. She turned to the pair beside the black dragon, approaching them as they came forward.

“What are your names?” The woman asked them, gripping her staff somewhat nervously. She didn’t flinch when Love narrowed her eyes at the weapon.

“I am Dorathea, and this is Sir... ahem, Danny,” Dora answered, motioning to herself and the boy beside her, “and you are...?”

“My name is Valka,” the rider nodded, pulling off her helmet, revealing the face of a middle-aged woman with wrinkles forming around her blue-green eyes. She motioned to the dragon beside her, smiling as she introduced him, “This is Cloudjumper.”

Noble Cloudjumper held himself high and proud at that, gazing curiously down at the two strangers across from him before he looked back at Love.  _“This is my human, Noble Valka,”_  he told her somewhat boastfully.

 _“She has a title? The same title as you?”_  Love titled her head curiously, leaning down to look more closely at the woman.

“Your dragon is beautiful,” Valka stepped forward, gazing up at Love almost reverently, reaching out her hand. “May I...?”

Love narrowed her eyes and bared her teeth, growling quietly,  _“No, you may not touch me.”_

Noble Cloudjumper tensed at that, hissing his answer to Love’s earlier question as he hunched forward protectively.  _“Noble Valka and I are One. She is my Precious One. You will not harm her.”_

Love spared him a glance before she backed off, pulling her head away from Valka’s still raised hand.

“Uh, that was probably a bad idea,” Danny piped up, reaching up to stroke Love’s neck nubs, calming her.

Noble Cloudjumper relaxed, settling on his back haunches. Valka withdrew her hand and stared at the black-haired boy in silent confusion, then glanced at Dora questioningly.

“He doesn’t speak Norse, uh, very well,” Dora smiled wryly, “he understands just fine, but he has not spoken the language much. He was just saying that it is not a good idea to try touching our dragon--she is not very trusting.”

“He speaks a foreign language and you speak with an accent... you are obviously not from here,” Valka stated more than asked. She continued with a somewhat excited glint in her eyes, smiling widely, “I have never met another dragon rider! You ride a dragon and speak with it comfortably... are other lands at peace with dragons?”

“We are from a far away land--but there are no other dragons there. We came here with our friend to look for some dragons of her own species,” Dora explained. “We were resting on that island when those trappers attacked us.”

Valka deflated a little at the thought of a land with no dragons, but she looked up at Love curiously. “Perhaps I can help. What kind of dragon is she? I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of her kind before, but perhaps Cloudjumper or some of my other dragons will know.”

 _“I’ve not seen any Wind Walkers in years,”_  Noble Cloudjumper tilted his head,  _“but that is just as I have not flown by the nest of the Wind Walkers in fifty summers.”_

Love blinked, suddenly staring at him with dilated eyes. Fifty summers... if Curious was fifteen years old now, then relatively speaking, fifty summers ago would have been the last time  _she_  saw a Flat-faced Fourwing.

“She is a Night Fury,” Dora interrupted Love’s train of thought, reaching over to pet Love too, and Valka’s eyes widened to the size of saucers, “very powerful and very rare, as far as we know.”

“I’ve never seen a Night Fury before--I’ve only ever read about them in books.” Valka said with clear admiration, “It is said they are the offspring of lightning and death themselves! How did you tame her?”

“We didn’t, really,” Danny snickered, “she’s our friend.”

 _“And you are my nestlings.”_  Love huffed, earning an amused look from Noble Cloudjumper as she leaned down to nuzzle the boy.

Dora chose not to translate either of them, shaking her head at Valka. “It would be difficult to explain.”

“I saw her trying to protect you, though,” Valka looked puzzled, eyeing Danny as he rubbed his face against Love’s affectionately and whispered things to keep her calm, seeing as Valka still made her distrustful. “When those trappers tried to capture her, the first thing she did was shield you.”

“Like I said, it would be difficult to explain,” Dora shook her head, “would you be able to explain how--Cloudjumper, was it? Would you be able to explain how you tamed Cloudjumper?”

Valka opened her mouth, then paused and closed it. “I see your point. It was not so much that I tamed him, more that he chose to keep me.” She shook her head with a small smile. “In any case, I don’t think I’ve seen any Night Furies around... but if you wish, we can return to my sanctuary and your dragon can ask around.”

“By the way,” Danny spoke up, looking over, “since she mentioned it... you think you can ask her what she was doing down with the dragon trappers? She was obviously watching us for a while if she saw Love trying to protect us.”

 _“I hope you killed them,”_  Love muttered to Noble Cloudjumper,  _“those humans should have burned--not only did they try to hurt our kind, but my nestlings as well!”_

 _“Noble Valka and I do not believe in slaughter,”_  the Fourwing answered pointedly, narrowing his eyes.

_“Shame.”_

Dora ignored them and glanced at the Danny. “You really should learn how to  _speak_  Norse, Sir Phantom,” she said in English, then switched back to Norse as she turned back to Valka. “My companion wishes to know what you were doing down by the island. And for that matter, I want to know what you did to those trappers.”

“We did not do anything drastic, we just destroyed their ship, so that it would take some time for them to recover their losses and begin their operations again. As you are probably aware, trappers are... not kind to dragons. Cloudjumper and I were following them to free the dragons they caught and take them to my alpha’s sanctuary to keep them safe,” Valka answered demurely. “We saw your dragon get caught and we were planning to help you out as well, but it seems that you are proficient in defending yourselves.” She nodded toward Danny in interest, “He is a skilled warrior for someone so weightless and young.”

Danny blushed at the complement. “Weightless? Is she calling me tiny?” He crossed his arms in embarrassment, “I’m not that small, am I...?”

 _“Does he speak no Norse?”_  Noble Cloudjumper leaned forward a little to sniff at him curiously, pausing in surprise.  _“He smells of demon as well, but not as strong as you... it is not your scent either, Wind Walker Love...”_

He turned his head to sniff at Dora next, and he stiffened. Dora glanced up at him, her cobalt gaze oddly knowing, and he backed away from her slightly.  _“This one, however... she reeks of demon, just as you do. Are all three of you demons? Do you come from the land of the dead?”_

 _“We are and we do, but Danny is human.”_  Love growled softly, meeting Dora’s gaze briefly before she looked back at Noble Cloudjumper.  _“It is none of your concern, however.”_

Valka watched her dragon curiously, putting a hand on his leg to stop him when she noticed Danny looking up at him and Love glaring suspiciously. “It’s alright,” she looked over at Love, motioning with her other hand to pacify the black creature, “Cloudjumper won’t harm them.”

Danny blinked, stepping forward and holding out his hand. “Can I...?”

“Of course.” Valka nodded, guessing what he wanted.

Noble Cloudjumper leaned down slowly, fully aware that Love had not taken her eyes off of him, much like a wary mother watching her children. Perhaps her comment about the boy and the woman being her nestlings wasn’t merely affectionate offhand...

“Hey, it’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you. There we go...”

He felt Danny’s cool hand against his nose, and he stilled abruptly. He still gave the Fourwing the urge to run, albeit the sensation was far weaker than when he was close to Love, but there was something else in the boy’s chilly touch and scent that reminded him of his king.

The boy spoke a language he didn’t understand, but the brush of thin fingers told him what the strange human was saying anyhow, as clear as if a young dragon were saying it.

_“Safe safe safe.”_

He pulled his nose back after the brief contact, returning to Valka’s side with a contemplative look. Danny let his hand fall back to his own side, a satisfied smile on his face. “Well, at least now I know how dragons react to my human half,” he mused to himself.

Valka chuckled, patting her dragon’s leg with a cheerful beam in her eye. “He’s really quite kind, as you can see.”

“Yes,” Dora smiled, folding her hands in front of her, “and quite... noble.”

Noble Cloudjumper’s ears perked up and he shot her a curious glance. Valka missed it, stepping forward. “Dorathea,” she spoke the foreign name slowly, trying to get used to the sound of it rolling off her tongue, “would you mind if I tried once again to properly greet your dragon...?”

Dora shook her head, reaching up to Love’s neck and patting her when she looked like she was about to protest. “Come on, Love, she’s not bad,” she whispered in English, “Noble Cloudjumper let Sir Phantom touch him...”

Love huffed, lowering her head slowly. Valka bowed slightly and reached out her hand, taking small steps toward the great black beast. Danny tilted his head at her--she walked in such an odd manner, now that he was looking. In fact, he thought, her posture reminded him greatly of her dragon’s.

“It’s alright, I won’t hurt you, I just want to...” The brown-haired woman gasped when her fingers finally met Love’s skin--it was cold, as if she’d been swimming in ice water for a while, which Valka hadn’t expected at all. “Wow... she’s... certainly, she’s amazing.”

Love was a little surprised when she felt Valka trying to communicate with her--she saw interest, curiosity, excitement, and nervousness in the woman’s eyes, expression, and scent, but the most prominent was the sense of awe shooting through her hand.

 _“Noble Valka has spent fifteen summers with my kind--she knows full well how to communicate with dragons,”_  Noble Cloudjumper smiled when he noticed Love’s nonplussed expression.

 _“Admittedly, that is amazing. Danny knows how to do it too, but I don’t think he’s consciously aware of it.”_  Love murmured quietly, pulling her snout back and wrinkling her nose.

“What is her name?” Valka suddenly asked, still looking up at Love in somewhat eager admiration.

“Oh, did we forget to introduce her? Technically she doesn’t have one, but we call her Love.” Danny answered with a wide grin. Valka blinked at him in confusion once more, though the awe in her eyes didn’t lessen any.

“ _Norse_ , Sir Phantom,” Dora admonished him again in English, “you really should start learning to speak it. Try now, won’t you? It’s not that hard to introduce someone.”

Danny blinked slowly, a look of concentration crossing his face as he tried to form the right words in Norse, patching together what he could recall hearing others--and Dora--say back in Berk. He looked up at Valka and spoke unsteadily, his voice rising in question more than actually stating anything, but she understood that he was trying to speak her native language for once.

“ _Heitir... Hon er--Elska._ ”

“ _Hon er_ Elskar,” Dora corrected with a chuckle, continuing in English to tell him, “though for short, Elska would be a suitable nickname.”

Danny grinned widely, looking up at Love. “Cool! Look, Love, I did it, I was able to speak relatively okay Norse!” Love made a sound at the back of her throat like a laugh, leaning down and nuzzling him proudly.

Valka looked at them in surprise. “She is called  _She who Loves_? What an odd name...”

 _“It’s not odd at all,”_  Noble Cloudjumper blinked owlishly at them,  _“it is a translation of a title...”_  He looked at Love in bewilderment.  _“Why do your humans know it? Your title?”_

Love smiled enigmatically at him, not answering. However, Dora answered Valka, “We didn’t decide it--she told us to call her that. In our language, we call her  _Love_. In yours,  _Elska_  is the suitable translation of the name she uses in her own language. It’s subjective to the speaker, since her language isn’t exactly one that can be spoken, so you can call her Elska if that’s easier for you. She’ll still respond to it.”

Valka stared at her, wide-eyed in shock. “You speak the tongue of dragons?!” She asked excitedly.

“Somewhat. My understanding of the language is fairly rudimentary, from what I can tell.” Dora tilted her head, “Though as I understand it, you also possess some ability to use the dragon language.”

“Well, yes, you do pick up a few things after fourteen years,” Valka nodded slowly, still looking as bewildered as her dragon companion. “How long have you...?”

“Almost all my life,” Dora answered vaguely--she was purposely interpreting the question as “how long have you known the language” and not “how long have you known Love”, because Valka was undoubtedly assuming Dora learned it from Love, who was apparently the only dragon in her land. She would let Valka draw her own conclusions.

“Amazing! Simply amazing,” Valka laughed lightly, “and young Danny, does he know it, too?”

Dora glanced at her companion, who perked up when he heard his name. “He’s learning.” Dora replied with a grin.

“That would be so cool,” Danny nodded in agreement. “I kinda do wanna understand Love someday without you translating.”

Dora giggled, and Valka smiled. “There is much to talk about, it seems,” she swept her hand out to her side, and Noble Cloudjumper lowered his body next to her. “My offer from earlier still stands--will you come to my sanctuary with me?”

Dora and Danny glanced at Love, who suddenly grew apprehensive.  _“I do not wish to encroach upon another king’s territory,”_  she looked directly at Noble Cloudjumper,  _“and if your reaction to me is any indication, I do not believe I will be well-received at your den.”_

 _“My king wished to meet you, though.”_  Cloudjumper crooned encouragingly,  _“I will go ahead and warn others to stay away from you, if you are worried about an uproar.”_

 _“That... would be wise...”_  Love reluctantly nodded, lowering herself next to her two friends.

“It is only a few hours till sunset anyhow,” Dora commented, looking at Danny, who was already making his way back over to Love to climb up. “How far were we going to fly?”

“Well, it was about a full day’s flight from there to Berk last time, but that was without the northern detour. And we still don’t really know which direction we’re supposed to be going other than west,” Danny replied thoughtfully, pausing before he mounted the dragon, “so we wouldn’t be able to make it to Love’s home in the few hours before dark unless we really hit the gas.”

“...I don’t understand that idiom, Sir Phantom,” Dora blinked, “but basically it would take a while? Perhaps we should take shelter with Madam Valka tonight and head out in the morning.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Danny nodded, offering his hand to Dora to help her up.

Dora grabbed it, getting on Love’s back and looking over to where Valka had already jumped onto Noble Cloudjumper’s. “It looks like we will be following you.” She nodded at the other woman, who grinned and slipped her helmet back on.

“This way, then!”

~~~

“So you helped save all of these dragons from trappers and the like?”

“Only some of them--Cloudjumper has been doing it for far longer than I, many of the dragons out there are his rescues.”

Love looked over her shoulder to where Dora sat with Valka in her little living space, a cave carved into the rocks and roofed by salty cyan ice. They had arrived not too long before sunset, and after an introduction to the king of this nest, the group had split up.

The king of the den was a large, wizened white Blizzard Breather, much to Love’s relief. Danny had been awed when he first set eyes on the gargantuan beast--Love was barely a third of his height. The Blizzard Breather, however, was fairly young--only two hundred years old--but he was still impressive and somehow ancient despite that.  _“To be able to live past one hundred is a miracle--humans have made dragons short-lived. I may be young to you, but I feel I am old now,”_  the Blizzard Breather had said to her when she commented, and she had agreed, remembering the Curious she had met in the first trip to the past who had been of a similar demeanor.

The king, aptly called  _Kind Wise One_  by his subjects, hadn’t been particularly disturbed by Love’s ghostly presence. He had been wary, of course, but he did not react with fear as Noble Cloudjumper had--he took it in stride, and asked what she was there for. After explaining about her search for her children, the kindly king had gone off to ask his nest mates if they had met any Wind Walkers.

Love herself couldn’t go because whenever she got too close to any of the stranger dragons, they would screech and flee in fright. So she settled for waiting near Valka’s cave, laying in the soft grass next to Noble Cloudjumper--or at least, she lay  _near_  him. Even he still struggled not to instinctively flee around her.

Danny had gone off to follow King Kindness, curious about and still amazed by the giant dragon, especially after he had sprayed some frosty mist at the boy and remarked,  _“I like this small human.”_  The black-haired boy trailed after the flightless beast, looking at all the different species in flight around him with large, starry eyes.

Love watched him for a little while before she finally turned her head to her silent companion.  _“Noble Cloudjumper?”_

 _“Yes?”_  The Fourwing lifted his head, tilting it curiously.

 _“Before, when you mentioned you had flown over a Wind Walker nest... did you happen to stop and talk to the nest mother at that time?”_  She asked slowly, looking thoughtful.

 _“I did,”_  Noble Cloudjumper blinked at her,  _“I stopped by her island to rest before I came back to my king. She was kindly--”_

_“And said she knew your mother?”_

Noble Cloudjumper froze, staring at her.  _“Y... yes,”_  he croaked in shock,  _“how did you...”_

Love looked at him seriously, her lips tightening as she said solemnly,  _“That was me. I believe we’ve met before.”_

The Flat-faced Fourwing scrutinized her for a long time, his round eyes squinted searchingly, trying to match her with the dragon he had met for such a brief time so long ago. Suddenly he remembered her name and everything clicked into place, and he squawked in exclamation,  _“Mother who Loves Too Much!”_

 _“Yes, I suppose that is what the others called me back then,”_  Love whispered gently,  _“just as you were called Wanderer who Leads to Paradise. I suppose this would be ‘paradise’ then.”_  She looked around at the green-covered den and the happily soaring dragons wistfully.

 _“You--you are a demon, though.... Does that mean...”_  Noble Cloudjumper shuffled his wings nervously,  _“Wind Walker Love, what happened to you...?”_

 _“I believe ‘dragon trappers’ would be the appropriate answer, but they were different from the ones we met earlier today... harsher. Crueler.”_  Love grumbled bitterly,  _“They killed me. This winter would mark... I believe it has been eight years since my departure from the land of the living, in this time. For me, however, it has not even been a year.”_

 _“Oh, by the storms and the winds... I am so sorry,”_  the other dragon keened softly, daring to scoot over just a little bit to be closer to her, stretching out his wing toward her comfortingly.

Love glanced at him, her expression softening. She appreciated the effort, even if it was offered cautiously and he still wouldn’t come closer than a few meters.  _“Thank you. But I’ve returned with the help of my friends because of my Children whom I Love Beyond Death. I need to find them--they were so small when I left them. My Curious, my little runt of a hatchling... he was only seven summers old. I found him already, he’s a healthy and happy fledgling now... he’s fine. But my other offspring...”_

 _“I wish I could help, more than I have... but my Precious One and I have not come across any Wind Walkers, there are not even any in the False God’s keep.”_  Noble Cloudjumper shook his head remorsefully,  _“In my next venture, I will be sure to look out for them, though--my Noble Valka will not protest if I check your old nest.”_

The Wind Walker queen sighed heavily, laying her head down. She didn’t bother to ask who the “False God” was--it was probably just a trapper, or perhaps it was another dragon queen. She didn’t particularly care, but Noble Cloudjumper’s words did comfort her.  _“Thank you, though I do not know how much longer I will be here, or when I will be here next. If you do find them... please keep them safe.”_

 _“I will, I promise.”_  Noble Cloudjumper nodded determinedly,  _“It is my purpose, to bring dragons to peace and safety. I would have done it without thinking.”_

 _“Would you... would you happen to have met any of my other pack mates?”_  Love looked up at him somewhat hopefully, folding her paws beneath her chin.  _“They are normally scattered around my islands, but I don’t know if the trappers got them as well...”_

 _“I recall meeting a pair of Storm Sailors and their three pups when I was last at your nest,”_  the orange-brown dragon mumbled thoughtfully, shuffling slightly to lay down too,  _“but I have not come across any of them. As for the others in your pack, I cannot say.”_

Love went silent, staring despondently out at the dragon sanctuary. Above them, she could hear Dora talking to Valka about the things she knew about Love’s physiology. Across the way, Danny was playing with some baby dragons Love didn’t know the name of, but they looked like the crossbred children of a Twinhead and a Spike Launcher. Kindness watched them in amusement for a few moments before he turned away to speak to some other dragons.

 _“Noble Cloudjumper,”_  she finally breathed out after several minutes, looking over at him again,  _“when we last met, when I was alive... you mentioned that you met a Wind Walker.”_

The Fourwing blinked at her.  _“Ah, yes, he was one of your former pack mates at the time, wasn’t he?”_

 _“One of my grown offspring, Daring,”_  Love nodded, absently wrapping her tail around herself,  _“do you know what ever became of him?”_

Noble Cloudjumper was silent for a long while, looking away from her.  _“I first met him on my way to retrieve some dragons who wanted to be free of the Lava Dweller. He told me then that he wanted to end her reign, so that all of them would be free--he wanted to be their king.”_

 _“I know of that, you told me that when I was alive.”_  Love snorted.  _“You said he distracted the queen while you rescued your small herd.”_

 _“He was young, he was so small compared to that queen. I thought he was Stupid, not Daring. But he was indeed the Daring One who Knew No Danger.”_  The other dragon sighed,  _“I did not learn of what became of him until I returned much later to retrieve another herd.”_

_“...And...?”_

Noble Cloudjumper hesitated, but he reluctantly continued,  _“He was weakened and then eaten by the Lava Dweller.”_

Love was silent, her face stony. The Fourwing dragon peered over at her warily, worried.  _“...Wind Walker Love?”_

 _“I suppose his demise isn’t unexpected,”_  she gave a strained moan,  _“he was as fearless as his father. Somehow I knew that would be his fate when he left, so long ago--but to have confirmation...”_

_“I’m sorry. It must be hard to know this of your former pack mate...”_

The Wind Walker shook her head mournfully, closing her eyes.  _“It is hard to know that of_ my children _,”_  she keened quietly.  _“I outlived most of them, as it is. It is hard to know that those who hatched from my eggs did not live to be as old as I was before I had been killed myself. Is it bad that I wish they would have stayed in my nest rather than fly off on their own?”_

 _“No, not at all,”_  Noble Cloudjumper purred comfortingly,  _“you cared for them, and you worried about them even after they were no longer your children... I can understand why they called you Mother who Loves Too Much. No dragon I’ve ever known have ever cared so much for their offspring even beyond the nest.”_

 _“It is not normal,”_  Love opened her eyes wearily,  _“but I still love them.”_

 _“It may not be normal, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t good,”_  the orange dragon let out a warm breath,  _“you became a demon to find them, watch over them, and keep them safe... that is a love I have only seen in my Precious One. She misses her little one every day, even if she cannot see him.”_

 _“...Perhaps I am like a human, then, to love my children who are far away.”_  Love shook her head sadly,  _“To think that such a thought would have repulsed me, one moon ago.”_

Noble Cloudjumper blinked at her, his head perking up curiously.  _“What changed your mind?”_

 _“My Curious child, my ‘son’ as Dora calls him...”_  Love managed a weak smile.  _“I am still not entirely sure of humans’ trustworthiness, but Curious has a human whom he calls Precious. Just as you have your Noble Valka... and I have my Danny and my Dora.”_

 _“Is that so? The young Curious One has bonded with a human?”_  The other dragon thrummed thoughtfully.

 _“Yes... and though I have not seen it, Dora tells me that bond makes them strong. They make each other strong, somehow,”_  Love looked up at Valka’s cave, where Dora was leaning over a rock wall to look out at Danny, still playing with the baby dragons--they were piled on top of him, and he was laughing. Somehow the sight lifted Love’s spirits, and she raised her head a little.  _“Who knows... by now, perhaps Curious and his human would have accomplished together what his older clutch mate could not.”_

Noble Cloudjumper blinked owlishly at her in confusion, cocking his head to the side.  _“What do you mean? Are you talking about Daring?”_  When Love nodded, his eyes widened.  _“You mean Curious is at...?”_

 _“That is where I found him.”_  The Wind Walker queen nodded.  _“I am fairly certain you won’t have to go to that area anymore to rescue anyone.”_

The orange-brown dragon snorted, smiling a draconic smile.  _“I’ll keep that in mind. So you think he became a king?”_

_“I don’t know, but I would be proud if he did.”_

~~~

“S--Danny? Where did you go off to?” Dora asked when she saw Danny sitting on the head of Valka’s Bewilderbeast as it returned to their area. She had seen the great white behemoth lead Danny to the exit on the other side of the den, and he’d been gone for several minutes before reappearing and climbing onto the Bewilderbeast’s offered tusk.

“Went to check the stars--you know, so we know where we’re going tomorrow,” Danny grinned, getting up and hopping the short distance into Valka’s cave. “No biggie.”

“Oh? And which way did the stars say to go?”

“Well, if we head straight left from the cliff face in front of that exit hole over there, we should get to Love’s home by lunchtime tomorrow.”

“You can read the stars?” Valka shook her head when she heard Dora’s side of the conversation, an impressed smile on her face. “You are truly a knowledgeable warrior, Danny.”

“Thanks, I think?” Danny grinned, attempting Norse again.

Below them, the Bewilderbeast--Dora heard everyone calling him Kind Wise One and Kindness--was conversing with Love, telling her that he had had no luck finding any dragon who’d come across a Night Fury.

Dora was a little disappointed for her friend, but the black dragon didn’t seem too put off by the news, having somewhat expected it.

“So I see you’ve gotten rather comfortable with my alpha,” Valka smiled kindly at Danny, awkwardly offering him some fish which had been cut and skewered on some long sticks. “Um... would you like some dinner?”

“Yeah, he’s awesome! I mean, he spits ice, how cool is that?” Danny rambled cheerfully, forgetting once again that Valka didn’t understand English. He lit up at the proffered food, nodding gratefully as he took one. “Oh, cool, thanks!”

“He says he thinks the ice-spitting thing is cool,” Dora translated when Vaka threw her a mildly helpless look, “Sorry, I’ll be sure to teach him more Norse so he’ll stop... doing that.”

“Sorry,” Danny grinned sheepishly through a bite of fish. He swallowed before he asked, “Anyway, what were you two talking about this entire time?”

“Love’s biology, basically,” Dora shrugged, switching to English absently. Valka nodded at her, turning to go clean up the things she used to prepare the food, since she knew Dora was just recapping what they were talking about to her friend. “We were just trying to figure out what that odd blue glow was--the one Love had before we took off.”

“Oh yeah! I forgot about that,” Danny blinked, then looked at Valka curiously. “Did she know?”

“No, but I think that... since it broke me out of that trance,” Dora glanced around almost conspiratorially, “it was an alpha call--similar to the ones used to control me, but she used hers to break me out of the control.”

“Ah, awesome,” Danny nodded in understanding, “and the glow?”

“I’m not sure if it was ghostly or not--but it might just be a natural ability she didn’t tell us about. She is an alpha species too, after all.” Dora tapped her chin thoughtfully, “I don’t think it was a ghost power, though... a sound-based power that makes the world seem to tremble? It doesn’t really fit anything I know, save your Ghostly Wail...”

“Well, we can ask Love later,” the black-haired boy shrugged, finishing his dinner, “but I agree, I don’t think it was a ghost power--she knew how to use it too well. It’s definitely an alpha dragon thing.”

Dora nodded, looking back at Valka as she returned to them. Valka smiled at them. “I’m sure you’re tired, and it’s rather late--I’m afraid I don’t have much to offer, but for sleeping arrangements...”

“It’s fine, we’ll just sleep with Love, we’re used to that,” Dora waved her hand dismissively, smiling politely. “We’ve already imposed so much... your hospitality is much appreciated, though.”

Valka blinked, shuffling her feet awkwardly as if she wasn’t sure how to respond. “If you insist?” She furrowed her eyebrows.

“We do,” Dora nodded, “we’ll go to sleep now, then. We’ll see you in the morning before we leave.”

Valka nodded, leaving them to their own devices as she turned to the cave opening and called to her dragon companion. She waved at the pair, going deeper into the cave. “Good night, then.”

“Good night!” Dora and Danny waved back, then made their way down to the grass where Love lay. Kindness backed off, moving to his own watery bed to also settle down for the night.

The trio talked for a bit as they settled in, going over whatever they had found out that day or clearing up other things. Dora examined her and Love’s wounds--they were almost completely healed now--before she determined that one more night of sleep would do her good, and she fell asleep soon after.

Danny offered to take first watch, and Love let him, though she stayed up a bit to watch him as he stood up, walking over to where Kindness was. He sat on the edge of the rock outcropping, facing the dragon and quietly playing with his ice powers to let off some energy.

As Kindness watched the half-ghost in enchanted fascination, Love couldn’t help but think that the pair had a lot in common. Danny and Kindness shared more than just ice affinities and big hearts, but Love didn’t quite know what it was.

Something about Danny’s protective nature made her feel like he should be a king too.

She closed her eyes as Danny idly rummaged through his backpack, and the last thing she saw was him unrolling the Infi-map.

~~~

“Dora! Love!” Danny hissed some hours later--it was early in the morning, far before the sun had even kissed the black sky with gray or came through the ice to light up the sanctuary. “Guys, wake up!”

Dora opened her eyes slowly and blinked a few times. “Sir Phantom?”

“There’s a portal!” Danny said urgently, “This is the first one I’ve seen in, like, weeks--I think we should take it.”

Dora’s eyes widened. “What?” She sat up straight, quickly shoving Love’s shoulder so she would wake up too. “How long has it been open?”

“Not long, like half an hour,” Danny shook his head, unsure, “I don’t know how much longer it will be open. We need to get to it--otherwise we might be stuck here for another couple weeks.”

Dora nodded sympathetically, and Love opened her eyes and stared at him blearily. Danny glanced at her apologetically.

“Sorry, Love... I know you wanted to search for your other kid, but...” Danny bit his lip, reaching out his hand and touching Love’s snout gently, “I need to go home. I’m worried about my town, and my friends, and my family will probably miss me if we’ve been gone a long while.”

“And my people need me,” Dora sighed, “though the vacation was great while it lasted.”

Love whined softly, but she nodded in understanding. She got to her feet slowly, shaking herself off as if that would help her get energized. Danny glanced up at her apologetically again, moving to get on, the Infi-map clutched tightly in his hand.

“We should tell Madam Valka we’re leaving at least,” Dora frowned, “can we wait a few minutes?”

“It’ll be weird that we’re leaving this early,” Danny pointed out.

“It will be even weirder if we disappeared without saying goodbye. That will seem suspicious at best,” the ghostly princess shook her head. “Wait here, I’ll go wake her.”

Danny sighed, leaning down and stroking Love’s neck comfortingly. “Sorry, Love,” he said again. Love shook her head, a burst of sympathy shooting through him. He smiled wryly. “Thanks, I think. But I still feel bad.”

Love looked forward again, her attention caught by a soft rumble in front of her. The alpha dragon, Kindness, had woken up, and he was staring at them quizzically. Love barked softly at him, probably to explain the situation, and he nodded solemnly. He glanced at Danny, blowing a cloud of frost at the boy, which Love also got caught in, and she blinked and bowed her head respectfully before shaking it off.

Danny chuckled, running his hands through his hair to clean the ice crystals off. “Is that a goodbye? Thanks,” he grinned, “I had fun too, big guy. Here, I’ll leave you a parting gift.” He held out his hand, his eyes glowing cyan as he formed a large but simple icy hexagonal dipyramid, letting it float over to the white dragon. He set it down in the grass at Kindness’ eye level. “It’ll stay frozen forever, so you won’t have to worry about it melting. It’s all yours, King Kindness.”

Love thrummed a chuckle, explaining what Danny had just said to the other alpha dragon. Kindness looked at the crystal in bewilderment, not sure what to do with it, but he made a deep, soft purr in thanks anyway. Danny nodded when he got the message, looking up when Dora returned with Valka and Cloudjumper.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you? I know these lands quite well...” Valka was saying to Dora, but the blonde shook her head.

“No, Love wanted to get out of here quickly, she flies pretty fast without an entourage,” Dora refused hastily. “Thank you for everything, though. Perhaps we’ll meet again someday.”

“If you’re sure,” Valka nodded, though she seemed uncertain. “It was nice meeting you, then. Fly safely.”

“Thank you, we will,” Dora smiled reassuringly, hopping on Love behind Danny. “Goodbye!”

“What she said!” Danny waved, “Bye!”

“Goodbye!” Valka waved back, and Cloudjumper and Kindness roared their farewells. Love returned it before they headed out of the cave, flying through a large gap in the ice.

As soon as they were in the clear, open sky, Danny held out the Infi-map. “Alright, everyone, hold on! We’re going home!”

Dora grabbed the map next to Danny, and both of them held onto Love as Danny activated it, taking them back to the Far Frozen. They screamed as it pulled them forward with a quick lurch. Having been without the sensation for two weeks, the trio was understandably disoriented when they landed in the snow several moments later.

“Welcome back, O Great One, Princess Dorathea, Night Fury Love!” Frostbite’s voice boomed above them, and Danny blinked blearily, looking up at the cheerful yeti, who sat in his hovering vehicle a few feet above him.

“Hey, Frostbite,” the currently still human boy waved dazedly, holding up the map for him to take, “how long were we gone?”

“Four days,” the white ghost replied dutifully, getting out of the hover craft. He chuckled as he grabbed the map from the boy’s lazy hand, informing him, “It is currently Monday, 1:32 in the morning over in Amity Park.”

“ _What?_ ” Danny jolted up, groaning, “Aw, man, I made it back just in time to have school in like six hours. Perfect.”

Dora blinked and pushed herself up slowly. “Wow, it’s actually refreshing to be here. I sort of missed the Ghost Zone air.” She paused, reverting back to her normal teenage form, letting out a breath of relief she didn’t need. “That’s better. Pretending to be human was exhausting... though admittedly fun. Sir Phantom, can I have my amulet back now?”

“Oh, right,” Danny blinked at her, digging into his backpack and pulling out her Amulet of Aragon. “Here, I did promise I’d only hang onto it for the rest of the trip.”

Dora smiled gratefully, clipping the necklace around her neck again. She relaxed as soon as she felt its comfortable weight against her chest. “Much better.”

Love grunted, rolling over in the snow. Danny got up and smiled apologetically at her. “Aw, don’t get all depressed on me.” He reached over, rubbing her stomach--she jerked up right away, unused to the sensation of someone touching one of her weak spots, and he laughed. “Sorry, had to be done. You head back to Aragon with Dora, okay? I need to go home and maybe get some sleep before school.”

Love nodded, sighing. Dora got to her feet, looking toward her half-ghost friend. “I’ll keep a few guards at the portal to make sure no one disturbs you.”

“Thanks,” Danny grinned, transforming. He looked to all of his friends gathered, nodding at the. “I’ll probably be back sooner rather than later. Thanks again for everything, Frostbite! See you later, guys!” He waved, shooting off and through the Ghost Zone, off to find his portal to go home.

Boy, did he have a lot to tell his friends in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn’t realize the last chapter was released on HTTYD2′s 1 year anniversary! Wow, has it really been a year since HTTYD2 came out? Only a year?! I feel fortunate that this chapter is what it is then! Happy (belated) anniversary everyone!!
> 
> This chapter feels quite special because I drop the title in there, hehe. Although I admit to not knowing how Norse works, I did a lot of research to try understanding sentence structure and grammar. I hope I did okay at least, and that it’s understandable! For those who didn’t get it, Danny basically said “She is called She who to Love”, and Dora corrected him with the (hopefully) proper conjugation “She who Loves”.
> 
> I went through a lot of title changes for this chapter, like “The King’s Paradise” and “Conversations with a Cloud Jumper”, but nothing quite seemed to fit overall. I hope settling on “The Noble Ones” was a good compromise--I borrowed very slightly from HtBaG again here, with the combination title and given names for the dragons. It’s a small thing in this chapter with “Noble Cloudjumper” and “Noble Valka”, but the concept will definitely show up again later!
> 
> I’ve been writing a lot, hehe... I think there will be a short break now, that ending felt a bit weak so I think I have block. And I need to figure out what to do from here before the next time travel segment (I know what will happen during the time traveling parts... just not so much in between?). Well, till next time!


	12. Guidance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last snippet was largely inspired by [silvermoonphantom](http://archiveofourown.org/users/daitoshi) (who also picked the final name), so credits to them <3\. Tell me what you think! This chapter feels very fillery and was written during block s-so it may not be my best but... enjoy?

“You wouldn’t believe it! I mean, there were literally so  _many_  dragons,” Danny spoke rapidly, motioning with his hands wildly as his friends watched him in amusement, “hundreds, maybe even thousands, I don’t know! But you would’ve loved it, Sam! There were ones that could spit acid, and others that had wings so sharp they cut through trees!”

Sam grinned. “I wish you could take us with you sometime.” She shook her head, “It does sound amazing, but I don’t know if I’d be ready to spend two weeks in the wild eating only fish with you. You sure there weren’t any edible plants?”

“Probably, but we were in like, Norway or something, there was ice everywhere--not many plants can grow on ice, right? So I had to resort to fish. Oh, but speaking of,” Danny gasped, picking up his ham and cheese sandwich and taking a huge bite of it, chewing it with a look of pure contentment on his face. He spoke with his mouth full, his cheeks puffed up like a squirrel’s, “Man I missed real food.”

Sam made a disgusted face, and Tucker laughed. “Good to know you had a great weekend, though.” He looked up from his PDA, “I’m with Sam though, I don’t think I could last two weeks on fish alone. Also wasn’t it covered in dragon spit?”

“Eh, it was the most convenient thing. I didn’t want to steal from the vikings, and Love’s a really good hunter.” Danny shrugged, taking another bite of his sandwich, “Besides, you get used to the dragon saliva after a while, it’s not bad for you.”

“That’s the other reason I wouldn’t go. Vikings, man?” Tucker shuddered.

Danny swallowed, laughing. “They weren’t so bad. Could use a bath though.” He wrinkled his nose to make his point, “And anyway, I’d still need you guys here to take care of the ghosts. Was it a busy weekend? Did my parents find out I was gone?”

“It wasn’t bad. It was mostly the Box Ghost and a few ectopi. And Skulker, but Skulker left on his own after he realized you weren’t around,” Tucker shrugged. “Oh and Desiree, but Sam remembered to just wish her into the thermos.”

“As for your parents, they didn’t figure anything out, though we almost got caught when we had to sneak past them to dump the ghosts back into the Ghost Zone.” Sam added.

Danny’s lips twisted into a frown. “Even with Dora’s guards at the portal some still got through, huh...” He shook his head, “I mean I get a few ectopi wandering through, they’re not that smart but they’re slippery. But haven’t Boxy and the others realized that they’re gonna get their butts kicked every time they come here? They never learn...”

“They seemed perfectly content to not come out of the Ghost Zone before the portal opened,” Sam mused, watching as Danny finished his sandwich, “maybe they risk it because there’s something here that they want, and they can get it now that there’s a stable portal?”

Danny hummed thoughtfully, his expression unchanging. “Maybe you can ask Dora about it, I’m not sure.”

“Sure. When’s the next time you’re going to visit her?”

“I dunno, maybe tomorrow or Wednesday? I think we all need a break after everything that happened. Especially Dora.” Danny shook his head. “Plus, you guys need a break too, after covering for me all weekend! Protecting Amity is  _my_  job, I wouldn’t be a very good superhero if I kept pushing it off to you guys.”

“Thanks, dude,” Tucker chuckled, “but we don’t really mind. I’m getting to be a good shot with the wrist ray!”

“It’s as much our responsibility as it is yours, Danny,” Sam nodded in agreement, “we’re all in this. We decided that on our own.”

“Heh. Thanks, guys.”

~~~

“Are you sure this is a good idea...?”

“Yeah, Dora’s up there,” Danny nodded, “so there’s less likely chance Love will attack. Besides, I think she’s cool with humans now.”

“If you say so, man...” Tucker mumbled uncertainly, following Danny up the path between Dora’s castle and Love’s cave. “I mean she was cool during the Sun Festival but I don’t think she liked us very much...”

“It’ll be fine,” the half-ghost boy reassured once again, making it over the last hill and pausing as he caught sight of Dora.

She was in the middle of scratching Love under the chin, and they came just as she hit that sweet spot that caused her to collapse into a happy pile, purring in her daze.

Danny doubled over laughing, grinning widely and waving when Dora looked up and waved at him and his friends. Danny took a moment to catch his breath, glancing at his friends. They were gaping in surprise. He laughed again and pulled them over, stopping in front of the ghostly princess.

“Hey, Dora! I see you managed to catch her unaware.” Danny laughed.

“Good day, Sir Phantom, Lady Sam, Sir Tucker.” Dora smiled somewhat wearily, nodding to them in greeting. She looked down at Love in amusement. “She’ll probably deny she enjoyed that.”

“Uh, what did you just do?” Sam asked, curious and a little concerned.

“Dragons have this soft spot under their jaws. If you scratch it, they do... this.” Danny explained with a sweeping motion of his hand, settling down after his laugh. He went over, crouching next to Love and poking her cheek with an amused expression.

“We learned it while watching Hiksti for a week.” Dora added, and at Sam and Tucker’s confused expressions, she expanded, “He’s the writer of the dragon manual and the rider of Love’s son, a Night Fury known as Tannlauss.”

Tucker’s eyebrows furrowed in continued confusion, but Sam made a small “oh” of understanding and chuckled. “You mean Hiccup and Toothless?” She quirked an eyebrow.

Dora blinked her red eyes slowly. “Yes, what did I say?”

“Uh, Hik--sti? And Tannlos, or something like that.” Sam shook her head.

“Oh, dear, I must be tired... Sorry, yes, those were their names in their native language.” Dora wrung her hands in front of her with a nervous laugh, “Hiccup and Toothless. I assume that’s what Sir Phantom told you they were called...”

“Yeah,” Tucker nodded, frowning. “Hey, uh, you okay? Danny told us what happened on your, uh, vacation.”

“I’ll be fine,” Dora assured them, “I’ve just had a lot of work to do, since I got back. I came here for a break.”

Danny came back over, looking at Dora curiously. “I thought your advisers took care of a lot of stuff while you were gone?”

“As it turns out, they’re not used to making decisions,” Dora winced, “and my people have found they don’t know what to do without me.”

“What do ghosts even do all day?” Tucker asked, pushing his glasses up, “I mean, when there’s no festival. There’s not really a need for weapons or farming since you’re all, y’know, dead, right?”

“My people live as if they were alive anyhow--unlike me, they are not truly autonomous ghosts, they’re more like extensions of my domain.” Dora shook her head, “They were people bound to my and Aragon’s souls when we died. So they’re not powerful like us--they go about their days farming and socializing and working, just as the living do.”

“Which means they also have the same problems and conflicts as humans as well,” Danny winced now too. “Did fights break out while you were away?”

“Over a small tax issue, but it was taken care of upon my return,” Dora sighed. “But, I came here to get away from that. I didn’t really expect to see you here for a little while, Sir Phantom--nor did I expect to see your friends. What brings you all here?” She tilted her head curiously.

“We wanted to check on you two,” Sam smiled sympathetically, “and just, you know, hang out.”

“Oh, that would be wonderful!” Dora smiled brighter than before, grabbing Sam’s hand. “I do so love your visits, Lady Sam.”

Sam grinned. “Yeah, we went by your castle, your guards said you went out. Danny figured you’d be here.”

“Well, it’s not exactly a secret where I go for my breaks,” Dora chuckled, leading them over to a spot to sit, “it’s certainly better than hiding out in my library where people can find me. My people are still a little wary of Love, so they don’t dare come by.”

“Hey, uh, guys? I think the dragon’s coming to,” Tucker called, watching as Love stirred. She lifted her head, her eyes opening and narrowing into slits, a growl escaping bared teeth. “Eek!”

Dora and Danny got up and shot over, the latter holding out his hands defensively. “Whoa, hey girl, easy there, it’s just me and my friends. You remember Tucker and Sam, right?”

Love stopped baring her teeth and glared at Dora. The white-haired boy blinked, looking over at her. “Is she mad you did the chin-scratching thing?”

“Yes,” Dora giggled, “but watch this, Sir Phantom.” She held out one hand, spreading her fingers and moving it in a circling motion--Love’s gaze followed suspiciously, but after a moment her eyes dilated. Dora made a bigger circular motion with her arm, and Love, still staring at her hand, tilted her head to follow the movement--twisting so far she rolled over, her tongue hanging out of her mouth like a happy dog.

Dora giggled again, lowering her arm. She bent down and rubbed Love under the jaw. “Sorry about earlier, Love.”

Danny--and his friends--watched with dropped jaws. “What’d you do?” Danny asked in surprise, looking over at Love as she purred and rolled over again, shaking herself out of the content daze. She glanced down at the pair, apparently not as angry anymore, and leaned down to nuzzle them--Danny felt jolts of exasperation and forgiveness; probably directed more at Dora than himself.

“I learned that trick from Madam Valka,” Dora explained, stroking Love’s nose, “it’s a technique mother dragons use to calm their children. They usually use their tails or eyes of course.”

“That’s so cute,” Tucker grinned.

“Also weird that it worked on a full grown dragon,” Sam noted.

“Hey, it’s like if your mom used that...  _mom voice_  on you,” Danny pointed out. “You know, the kind where she uses your full name. You snap right to attention no matter how old you are.”

Tucker nodded at the sense that made, knowing what Danny meant. “Ah, true.”

Love huffed and crooned, rolling her eyes. Dora smiled. “Thank you for forgiving me, Love,” she said softly, stepping back, “but you must admit that wasn’t the worst feeling in the world.”

The great black dragon tightened her lips, narrowing her eyes slightly as she replied in a small hiss.

“Did she deny it?” Danny guessed, slightly amused.

“No, she said being knocked out like that makes her feel vulnerable and she doesn’t like it,” Dora translated, “also she said not to do it again.”

“Aw,” Danny pouted, “not even in like, emergencies where you go berserk or something?” Love gave him a pointed stare, warbling at him incredulously. He shrugged, “Okay, so I might want to do it sometime too, but you still can’t deny you kind of go crazy sometimes. Like, you know, when you first met these guys. That would’ve been a handy trick to know at that time.”

Sam and Tucker exchanged amused glances--it almost seemed as if Danny could understand Love. Love grunted in assent to the half-ghost, lumbering over when Danny and Dora went to rejoin Tucker and Sam. She lay down a few feet away, eyeing them somewhat curiously.

“Hi again,” Sam greeted her, “don’t mind us, we’re not here to hurt you or anything.”

Love tilted her head, leaning close and sniffing her. Sam stayed still, letting her. “Uh, this is a good sign, right?”

“Yes,” Dora nodded, “she’s just scenting you to read your sincerity. Dragons trust that more than spoken words. It just means she’s trying to trust you--or at least tolerate you.”

“Oh, good to know,” Tucker laughed nervously when Love craned her neck over to him next. “Err, hi there?”

Danny chuckled, shaking his head. “So, what have you two been up to all week?” He asked Dora, adding as an afterthought, “Aside from kingdom troubles.”

“Love’s just been resting--being in the Real World so long, especially for a young ghost, is taxing--she didn’t realize how taxing until we got back.” Dora explained, “As for me, I’ve started to personally organize my treasure vault. It’s a mess in there and frankly I’d like to know what my brother hoarded all of these years.”

“You know, most people take up a sport or something when they need a hobby,” Tucker commented somewhat incredulously, relaxing as Love moved away from him, “you chose  _cleaning_?”

“I never get to!” Dora protested, “All the maids always do it. But no one is allowed in the treasure vault except a few people so... I figured I’d try my hand!” She seemed somewhat proud of this, so Sam smiled at her encouragingly.

“That’s great,” she patted her friend on the shoulder. “I’m sure there are a lot of treasures in there you could find useful too.”

“Possibly!” Dora nodded, looking over to Danny as he began petting Love. “What of you three? How was the weekend without Sir Phantom? And what happened upon his return?”

After Sam and Tucker explained the weekend to her--and also thanked her for putting up guards on the inside of the portal--Danny explained what happened in the past few days.

“...and then Skulker got word that I was back or something, so he spent all of yesterday chasing me--I think he got another upgrade,” Danny made a face, “and then today! I had to deal with Technus trying to take over the school computers, it was a disaster...”

Dora winced. “I’m sorry I cannot offer my assistance more often in guarding the portal, Sir Phantom--but there is only so much time my knights can spend away from my domain and they’re not as strong as some of your enemies, admittedly...”

“Hey, it worked for when we needed it and it cut down our workload, that’s more than enough,” Sam reassured her.

“Yeah, but some of these guys don’t even have a reason to come out,” Tucker pointed out. “Like, why do ectopi and the Box Ghost keep coming out of the portal? Those guys are weak, even if they’re slippery.”

“Oh yeah, we were going to ask you about that,” Danny perked up, and Love hummed at him curiously. “Before my parents built the portal, ghosts never came out so much, even in a natural portal hot spot like Amity Park. Heck, I’m pretty sure things are more likely to go  _into_  the natural portals than getting out of them. So what happened, why do ghosts keep trying to get out now?”

“Aside from unfinished business?” Dora asked wryly, “Your regular enemies are the type of ghosts that feed off of energies in the human realm--usually negative emotions like misery or fright, or something of a similar ilk. It’s much more potent than any ambient energy they can absorb here, so they try to get it over in the Real World.”

“Like Spectra and Desiree?” Sam nodded in understanding, “But they lasted fine without it before the Fenton Portal opened. Couldn’t they still?”

“Yes, but they’re greedy. Theoretically, they  _would_  stay in the Ghost Zone if there were rules about it,” Dora muttered slowly, “and there were consequences.”

“Like, Walker’s rules?” Tucker made a face, “Even if there was one that made it illegal to cross the portal, his sentences for that aren’t long enough--no one actually stays jailed for long. Rules like Walker’s are sort of a joke.”

“No, not like Warden Walker’s,” the dragon princess shook her head hesitantly, “more like... Pariah Dark’s.”

The three teenagers froze, and Love murmured in confusion. Dora blinked at her. “Ah, right, you wouldn’t know who Pariah Dark is...”

Love frowned, nudging Danny. The ghost boy startled at her touch, a feeling of concern washing over him. Love seemed to be asking why she felt “scared” feelings from him.

“Pariah Dark was the ruler of the Ghost Zone for thousands of years,” Danny sighed, rubbing her nose reassuringly, sending feelings of “it’s alright” and “calm” to her. “He was a tyrant and... a lot of other things, but he ruled his subjects with fear and threats of pain and destruction. He was powerful--no one could defeat him, so a bunch of ancient ghosts in the past locked him away to sleep forever, till Vlad the fruitloop let him out. It took a hundred times the power I had to defeat him and get him back to sleep, and I only managed to do it with the help of my parents’ inventions.”

Love looked surprised, warbling softly. Dora cleared her throat, catching the dragon’s attention. “His reawakening led to mass hysteria here in the Ghost Zone--many of us fled to the Real World because he had destroyed our homes. He was fear itself--he was the embodiment of power, and he wanted to take over both realms for the sake of exercising it. Sir Phantom is known as a hero in many domains here because of Pariah Dark’s defeat.”

“He’s one of the most powerful ghosts I’ve ever had to fight,” Danny shuddered.

“Luckily he’s locked away now,” Tucker piped up, “he won’t be making any comebacks any time soon.”

“Yeah, that’s the bright side,” Sam sighed, “but Dora’s right. If someone of the Ghost King’s status made a rule for ghosts not to leave the Ghost Zone, they’d probably listen.”

“But no one’s in that position now,” Danny mumbled, “and even if there was someone there, what’re the chances people would listen to them anyhow? The Ghost Zone has lived thousands of years without a king, and it was running fine--it still is.” He shrugged with a sigh, letting his hand fall from Love’s snout. “Even with the threat of consequences or whatever, ghosts would still come out.”

“Well, even without a rule, there’re consequences for coming to the Real World,” Tucker pointed out. “ _You_  kick their butts back into the Ghost Zone.”

Love thrummed in thought, and Dora glanced at her with a smile dancing on her lips. “Yes, it’s exactly like that.”

Danny blinked, not sure what Dora was responding to exactly. “What’s exactly like what now?”

“Oh, nothing, Love was just comparing Pariah Dark to the Red Death.” Dora said with a dismissive wave. “Do not worry about it.”

Danny’s eyebrows rose. He got the feeling Dora wasn’t exactly telling the truth.

~~~

Dora bit her lip as her eyes flickered over the words on the parchment in her hand, absorbing it quickly with all the practice of sixteen hundred years. It was a contract for the rights of some land on the outer edges of her kingdom--one of her people had bought it off another, but there had been some misunderstanding when it became apparent that the person they bought it from didn’t have the rights to sell the land. Now she had to sort it out and figure out what to do about the land, find the real owner, and set up a third party to manage the money originally exchanged while they worked out the details...

Honestly she didn’t mind working out issues like this, but lately she had become fully aware of how many decisions she had to make every day. She, like the rest of her people, had lived under Aragon’s rule so long that autonomy was foreign to her--she had been controlled for so long that the sudden freedom to make her own choices was disorienting. Her people had it easier--they looked to her now to tell them what to do, to take care of them and listen to their problems and help them sort things out. But Dora herself had no one she could really turn to for that kind of definitive guidance.

Not that she wanted it--autonomy was a blessing and she was grateful for it. Still, when her advisers gave her their different opinions on what to do on a matter, she had to choose one of their solutions, and often it wasn’t easy to choose between them.

Some days she knew that she was only a child trying to play the part of a queen, and it was painfully obvious that she didn’t know how to be a proper leader. She was still too meek and indecisive, and she was never quite sure if she was doing the right thing--she was only sure that she was trying her best.

Her people were supportive, though--they understood that she didn’t know what she was doing, but they still trusted her enough to make the big important decisions anyway. They knew she thought of their comfort and happiness first, and in turn believed that that was what made a good ruler after so many centuries of her tyrant brother’s reign. The amount of faith Dora found at her doorstep was overwhelming, but the love her people had for her was touching--and she vowed to never let them down.

She had never really realized that this was what it was like to be an adult--she had always thought that being an adult simply meant passing her sixteenth birthday, meeting a prince or a nobleman at the costume ball, growing up and getting married and living happily ever after. She had never thought of all the responsibilities that came with growing up; never thought of anyone but herself and what would happen in her own future. Even now, as she read over the contracts and arranged for messages to be sent to all the parties involved in the issue, she barely realized how much of an adult she really was.

She didn’t have time to stop and think about it.

Which was why her visits to Love were often a necessity: it allowed her room to breathe--figuratively speaking of course. Love let her talk and think, and never said anything and simply listened like a good friend. Dora had never really had a friend during Aragon’s reign--she wasn’t allowed to speak up or speak to anybody, which was why she had run away so often. Floating aimlessly through the Ghost Zone, left with nothing but her thoughts, her mind had turned to the unfairness of her afterlife, stuck forever as a girl a day away from becoming an adult. As a result, running into other ghosts--or even Danny and his friends, way back then--had ended up with her turning into a dragon out of rage because no one listened to her whines of wanting to go to the ball.

Times were different now--she didn’t complain nearly as much about that ball, too busy worrying about whether or not her people had enough food during the fall harvest, before the winter set in. She might have brought out the sun at the start of her reign, but the flow of time was felt as real in her realm, and so the seasons were simulated as well as the weather. She admittedly didn’t have as much control over her domain as she wished she had--after all, it was still Aragon’s domain too, and it would have taken an agreement between the both of them before things could really be changed.

She paused to think about her brother, locked away in the dungeon beneath the castle. She didn’t visit him--she didn’t need to feel inferior or talked down into nothing. He had been horrible to her--as horrible as her mother--and he had been horrible to their people as well. No, not  _theirs_ \--hers. The people of her kingdom had never loved Aragon, they  _feared_  him. They feared he would hurt them if they did not listen to his every word, they feared him because he saw them as little more than things he owned, and they feared his wrath much more than they feared Pariah Dark’s. Aragon may have stayed during the attack of Pariah Dark, if only to keep his claim on the kingdom, but that didn’t make him any less of a tyrant himself.

Dora sometimes wondered if she would ever do that--the kingdom was completely hers now after all. If someone like Pariah Dark attacked them again, would she have stayed? Or would she run away in fright once more?

She didn’t know if she would have been strong enough to be the hope of her people.

But these were thoughts for another day.

~~~

Love watched quietly as Dora ranted about her latest struggles with the duties of monarchy. Admittedly, the dragon didn’t understand much of human culture or hierarchy, even after so long of listening to Dora talk about it, but she understood that it frustrated the young princess.

Which was why she had pulled the ghost girl close to her and began preening her hair in an attempt to cheer her up and distract her--Dora sputtered in surprise, but didn’t protest after she realized what Love was doing.

“Thanks, Love,” Dora sighed, letting the black beast tug at her braid experimentally, “it’s just hard sometimes... all of these people are depending on me, and sometimes I think that I don’t know what to do. I mean, I took a vacation instead of worrying about the harvest season. It doesn’t really help that we’ve barely had a harvest season for sixteen hundred years...”

 _“Hmm.”_  Love hummed to show she was listening, nudging the braid loose after the tie came out.

“I mean, even with the past two years, I’m still not entirely sure what I’m supposed to do for the harvest season? I know I have to count up the stock, and collect taxes accordingly, and then redistribute rations to those who need it--I know we can’t actually starve but it would be unfair if someone were left without food, you know?”

_“You are kind to make sure everyone is well fed.”_

“That’s... what a queen is supposed to do... isn’t she?” Dora asked uncertainly, “Aragon, my brother, he didn’t do any of that during the harvest seasons. Whether or not the harvest was meager, he just kept everything to himself... and that never felt right to me. Even if it’s not traditional to give out the food collected from the taxes, I’d rather my people had it--I don’t exactly need it myself.”

 _“Your brother sounds like a Starcoat.”_  Love snorted, nosing Dora’s wavy blonde hair curiously,  _“You... sound like_ me _.”_

“You, Love?” Dora looked up at her, pulling some hair over her shoulder and beginning to braid it again idly, “You collected food and gave it to your pack?”

 _“Mostly the young ones, but yes,”_  Love nodded.  _“That is what a king typically does, though: they provide for their pack, their colony.”_

“You did say I was very king-like before.” Dora smiled for the first time in several hours, relaxing against Love’s chest.

Love hummed again, a split tongue darting out and licking the princess’ head. Dora sputtered again, looking up at her friend indignantly.

“That doesn’t wash out!” She complained, running her hands through her hair in an attempt to get the saliva out. Love only laughed--she had successfully distracted Dora.

 _“It washes out fine. Danny never seems to mind.”_  Love mused, recalling all the times in their previous trip to the past that she’d spent licking Danny clean. The boy had stopped complaining after she had done it two times, though Love had done it less when Danny had started bathing on his own somewhere--Love never really paid attention to where he went when he did that.

“That’s because he goes intangible to get it all out. I can’t do that in the Ghost Zone!” Dora huffed.

 _“Ah. Sorry, then.”_  Love replied, completely unapologetic--she was even smiling. Dora pouted playfully at her, flicking a handful of saliva at her. Love made a face when it hit her nose, but otherwise didn’t really mind, rubbing it off with her paw.

The sound of an engine in the near distance caught both of their attention, and they exchanged a glance. “It seems like Sir Phantom is here.” Dora mused, “He must have brought his friends--that sounded like the Specter Speeder.”

Love got to her feet, finally releasing Dora from her other paw, stretching out and shaking her wings slightly.  _“They’re probably coming here, then.”_

“It’s a bit of a walk from the edge of the forest though,” Dora commented. “Let’s go greet them instead.”

Love hummed in agreement, and Dora transformed--the two of them took off without a word, flying for the edge of the forest. They flew over a half-hidden path in the trees, looking along the unused dirt road for the colorful flashes of Danny and his friends.

“There!” Dora pointed, descending only a moment later. The trio wasn’t too far from the edge of the kingdom, but they stopped and looked up when Love’s shadow crossed over them. Dora landed first, though Love had to spin around and double back to find a good landing spot.

“Good day!” Dora grinned at the three teenagers.

“Hey!” Sam chuckled, “What’re you doing out here Dora? We were just stopping by to visit Love with Danny.”

“We heard your flying vehicle land, so we thought we’d come greet you and save you the walk.” Dora tilted her head.

“A narrow path isn’t exactly the best place to have a chat,” Danny rolled his blue eyes, reaching up to stroke Dora’s snout--which she allowed, nuzzling him a little.

“True, but now we can head back to Love’s cave faster,” Dora glanced at Love, then back at the trio, “like I said, we can save you the walk.”

“How does that... oh.” Tucker frowned, looking a little uneasy--out of all of his friends, he was the only one who had never gone dragon-back riding. 

Sam grinned widely. “This’ll be fun.”

 _“...What? Do you plan to carry all of them?”_  The black dragon gave Dora a quizzical look.

“I can carry two of them.” Dora said in a matter-of-fact voice, smiling knowingly at Danny.

The black-haired boy laughed, “Oh! Seeing as you probably still don’t trust Tucker and Sam much, I guess that means I’m riding with you. Is that okay, Love?”

Love blinked slowly, tilting her head.  _“You’ve ridden me before... but thank you for asking permission,”_  she murmured appreciatively, nodding and nudging him with her nose.

He smiled softly at the feeling that jumped through his chest just then, a beat in tune with his heart going  _“trust trust trust”_.

“Alright then, climb on,” Dora shifted, lowering her body so Tucker and Sam could get on.

“Uh, are there seat belts?” Tucker asked, getting on nervously.

Sam rolled her eyes and hopped on in front of him. “I give you permission to touch me in this one case--if you get scared, you can hang onto me!” She cackled.

Tucker’s voice rose in pitch as he protested, “I--I am not scared!”

Danny laughed at his friends, easily hopping onto Love’s back without needing her to lower down. He patted her neck and asked, “Can we have a race? Or at least do some cool tricks? You know, like we saw Toothless doing with Hiccup!”

“No racing!” Tucker whined, wrapping his arms around Sam’s waist as he felt Dora’s muscles tensing, getting ready for take-off.

“What kind of tricks?” Sam asked curiously.

Love thrummed in thought, looking back at Danny with mischievous green eyes.  _“Alright, halfling. If you’re sure you can hang on, I can do a few ‘tricks’, as you call them.”_

“She says if you’re sure you can hang on, she’ll do some of those flying maneuvers,” Dora translated, then launching herself into the air, gigging at Tucker’s shriek. “See you over at the cave!”

Love launched off too, spinning from the vertical take-off and then spreading her wings to transition into a swooping glide. Danny whooped in excitement, laughing when Love did some loops in the air and zigzagging sharp turns and barrel-rolling through the trees.

The flight was short, however, so it wasn’t long before they dove into the clearing and landed gracefully. Danny was still grinning widely as he jumped off her back, his hair more wild than usual. Sam and Tucker and Dora--back in human form--were already in front of the cave, their heads tilted up to watch. Dora’s face held admiration, and the two humans’ were in awe.

“That was better than riding Dora through that obstacle course! No offense, Dora.” The black-haired half-ghost waved as he came over and sat near them, running his hands through his hair to fix it.

“None taken. Night Furies are magnificent fliers, after all.” Dora smiled at the black dragon, who puffed up her chest proudly.

 _“Curious may have flown well with Hiccup, but he is still a child. His skill is nothing compared to mine.”_  She crooned boastfully, settling down beside the princess and flexing her wings before folding them against her side.

“That was amazing,” Sam exclaimed to Danny excitedly, “that was nothing like the ride on Dora! How did it feel?”

“It’s a rush,” Danny nodded, reaching over to pet Love, “it’s way different from flying on my own! Like, I’m human right now, I could’ve easily fallen off when she did those barrel-rolls and I would’ve had a hard time catching myself, you know? It was that kind of feeling, but there was something else too.”

 _“I wouldn’t have let you fall,”_  Love purred gently, and Danny looked up at her meaningfully.

“I know you wouldn’t have let me fall. That’s the other thing I felt--there was something about it. I can’t put it into words.” Danny smiled up at her, touching her neck so that she could feel his emotions through his hand-- _“bliss happy trust excited”_.

Love blinked with slight astonishment and glanced at Dora, who smiled knowingly. “I told you, it’s an honor to be trusted with someone’s life like that.” And the black dragon felt pride when she finally understood the bond of trust Dora had been talking about all this time.

“Admittedly, that’s pretty cool,” Tucker spoke up, sitting down in front of Dora, “but no offense, I’ll stick with hover crafts.”

Dora laughed. “Dragon riding is an incredible bonding experience, with the right dragon, Sir Tucker.” She smiled enigmatically, “Perhaps I’m simply not the best match for you.”

“Dragons are extinct, though,” Tucker titled his head, “how would I ever know how it feels then?”

“Well, I guess you wouldn’t then? That’s okay,” Sam shrugged, “like you said, you can stick to the Specter Speeder.” She looked over at Dora, thoughtful. “Does that mean I can be matched with you?”

“Possibly, but I’m also human--er, ghost, and thus a lot more intelligent than most dragons.” Dora explained thoughtfully, “I don’t think I can be properly ridden. Our bond is acknowledged as one of a good friendship... but it’s different from the one Sir Phantom and Love have.”

The rest of the group startled at that, looking at the green-skinned princess with wide eyes. “What do you mean by that?” Danny asked, the surprised crack in his voice only matched by Love’s dilated pupils.

“I can’t be sure, exactly,” Dora tilted her head, “but I think the bond you have is more akin to what Hiccup and Toothless have.”

Love and Danny blinked, exchanging glances. Dora couldn’t help but giggle at their bewildered faces, turning to the black dragon.

“You must admit... calling him yours, constantly concerned about him and making sure he’s alright, wanting to spend time with him...” Dora counted off on her fingers, “He’s the first human you trusted, and you’ll calm down at his word and his touch. And you let him ride you without complaint just now.”

 _“But I do those things with you as well, little one,”_  Love tilted her head in confusion.

“Yes but that’s because you’ve practically adopted me as your child. You’ve adopted Sir Phantom as well, but there’s a level of respect there that goes beyond that,” Dora explained softly. “It’s an inexplicable bond that can’t be put into words... and you  _want_  to be connected to him. Just as he does to you--it’s why he keeps coming back. He certainly didn’t visit this often before he met you.”

Danny blinked owlishly at her, opening his mouth then closing it wordlessly. He glanced at his friends, who now looked amused.

“Well, I guess the name Love makes a lot more sense now,” Tucker snickered. “Still kind of weird, but it makes sense.”

“You do visit the Ghost Zone a lot more because of her,” Sam pointed out. “I mean, Dora’s right, I think. From what you told us about Hiccup and Toothless, it sounds like Toothless stopped trying to escape after he and Hiccup formed that kind of bond. He wanted to stay so Hiccup could find him--isn’t that kind of why Love came here instead of staying someplace else?”

Danny stared at them, then peered up at Love. “Well. That’s a bit of an unexpected, but not unpleasant, surprise,” he finally said, grinning widely and holding out his hand.

Love stared at him for a moment longer, then lowered her head and nudged his palm with her nose--Love’s emotions traveled down his arm and wrapped around his heart, a comforting  _“happy love respect love loyal love”_. His own feelings, so similar to hers, echoed in her own core. He smiled fondly at her, stroking her snout.

“Yeah, I thought so too. It’s sort of like... we belong together, right?”

 _“I suppose I cannot deny it,”_  Love chortled, pulling back and looking over at Dora.  _“I do not know much about this bond... but I get the feeling I will learn together with him.”_

“That you will,” Dora nodded, smiling and lifting her hand to stroke Love’s neck.

“Sooo... does Danny technically have a pet dragon now?” Tucker asked, blinking at the somewhat one-sided conversation the ghostly pair were having with the dragon, not really able to guess what they were saying.

Love huffed, narrowing her eyes at him.  _“I am not a_ pet _.”_

“More like a dragon partner,” Sam said after she guessed what Love’s indignant growl meant. “That’s cool, Danny. Congratulations?” She asked more than stated, somewhat unsure if that was an appropriate response to the news of this strange bond.

Danny laughed, nodding. “Thanks, I think.” He was still petting Love, and she purred softly in delight. “But we’re just friends, just like I’m friends with you guys. Nothing’s really going to change now that there’s apparently some inexplicable bond between me and Love.”

“Hm, that might be true. Your relationships with Lady Sam and Sir Tucker  _are_  on the same level as the bond you have with Love,” Dora mused, “That might be an easier way to explain it.”

Sam and Tucker blinked, exchanging a glance. “Oooh.” Tucker whistled, “I think I get it now! It’s like, family beyond blood relations or something?”

“Hey, if Love’s willing to go to any expense for you, then she’s as good a part of Team Phantom as we are,” Sam’s lips twitched upward fondly, an idea lighting her purple eyes when she glanced at Dora. “Both of you are.”

“Me?” Dora squeaked in surprise.

“Yeah! You help Danny out as much on this side of the portal as we do on the other side. Why not?” Sam nodded with a reassuring grin, “You’ve been a member of Team Phantom since you first became our ally.”

Dora beamed, nodding eagerly. “Of course! I won’t let you down.”

Love hummed, then warbled questioningly,  _“What is this ‘Team Phantom’ they are speaking of?”_

“Ah, it’s the name of their... pack, I suppose.” Dora whispered, “It consists of people who know Sir Phantom’s dual identity and help him.”

 _“Humans name_ everything _. How odd.”_  Love chortled affectionately, gazing at the three teenagers as Danny pulled his hand away and turned to his friends. She watched as they talked about the other allies and members of Team Phantom--Love didn’t recognize many names, though.  _“Though... this does remind me. The one called Tucker said_ my _title was weird. Why is that?”_

“Love is a term of endearment in their language, it’s not quite a name.” Dora chuckled. “Many people can be called ‘love’, but it is not their unique identifier.”

 _“I see... why do you call me Love then?”_  The Night Fury mother asked curiously.  _“Was it odd for you to call me by a term of endearment when we were strangers?”_

“You told us to call you by your title,” Dora shrugged. “You didn’t know, so it was fine.”

“What’s Love asking?” Danny looked over curiously, having noticed that their two ghostly companions had not been paying attention to the conversation.

“She wanted to know if it was weird that we called her Love since it technically isn’t a name.” Dora paraphrased, leaning against the black dragon’s side as she rested.

“It could totally be a name,” Sam commented, “and it’s not a bad one.”

“But it’s weird,” Tucker repeated, “I mean, it totally makes Danny sound like he’s dating her.”

Danny made a face at him, punching him on the arm. “Dude, no.” He shook his head vehemently in denial, glaring as the dark-skinned boy held his arm in mock pain. “I mean, yeah it’s a little weird, but I’ve gotten used to calling her that.”

Love hummed in thought.  _“...I wouldn’t mind having a ‘human’ name, I suppose,”_  she decided after a long moment.  _“We are friends, and I am part of your ‘circle’, am I not? You said before that names were given out of affection to mark this relationship.”_

Dora’s eyes widened and she sat up straight. “Really?” She asked excitedly, “Sir Phantom, Love just said she didn’t mind if we gave her a human name!”

Danny blinked. “Uh--are you sure?” His eyebrows furrowed up at the black dragon, “I mean, you don’t have to just because we said Love is weird... You  _are_  ‘Love’, we said that, remember?”

Love nodded, leaning her head down to nuzzle him.  _“I know, and I will still be She who Loves. But I would be honored if you gave me a name, or a nickname, because we are_ friends _.”_

The black-haired boy breathed in awe at the emotion he felt through Love, and he didn’t need Dora to translate to know exactly what she said. He grinned and scratched her under the jaw affectionately, nodding. “Okay, if you’re sure. I’ll make sure we pick a good one!”

Love nodded in satisfaction and sat back to watch him, curious. He looked over at his friends, his face still lit up with his happy, goofy grin. “Alright guys, it looks like Love is getting officially recognized as part of Team Phantom by getting a new name. So... any ideas?”

“How about Nicki?” Tucker piped up, and all of his friends looked at him oddly. “What, you know, like... Nick Fury? Get it? Night Fury, Nick Fury? Haha!”

“Oh my god,  _no_.” Danny and Sam shouted at the same time, the former looking playfully aghast. Dora just looked confused, and she leaned over to Sam to ask what the reference was.

“Well you asked for ideas.” Tucker shrugged. “Hey, it’s  _your_  dragon partner, why don’t you throw one out?”

“Um... okay, how about... Draco?” Danny crossed his eyes thoughtfully, “Wait, is there a girl version of that?”

Love made a face at him, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.  _“That sounds like ‘dragon’. Is he being serious?”_

“Danny no,” Sam whacked him on the back of the head, then unknowingly confirming Love’s suspicion when she continued sternly, “you can’t name a dragon ‘dragon’ in another language.”

“Why not?” Danny pouted, “And it’s not just ‘dragon’ in another language, it’s from the constellation!”

“Nerd,” Tucker laughed at him, looking over at Love. “Nicki ain’t sounding so bad now, huh?”

Love leered at him, rolling her eyes. She whacked both boys on the back of their heads with her tail. Sam laughed, and Dora giggled.

“Ow!”

“Yeesh--okay, so she doesn’t like Draco either.” Danny rubbed his head sheepishly.

“How about something cooler, like... Nightwish?” Sam tapped her finger on her knee contemplatively.

“Like the Finnish metal band?” Danny blinked. Love hummed in thought, considering it.

“How is a band ‘metal’?” Dora wondered idly, “Unless you are speaking of some sort of bangle from Finland...”

Tucker snickered, waving his hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it.”

The half-ghost boy rubbed his chin in thought, frowning. “I dunno, I can’t really imagine calling her Nightwish.”

 _“Agreed, it sounds odd to me,”_  Love nodded with a small purr.  _“Your human naming conventions make little sense to me, but that does not seem very much like a person’s name...”_

“It’s not.” The ghostly princess replied with a shake of her head, falling silent in thought. “How about Elska?” She suggested after a while, “It’s what we called her in Norse, and in English it doesn’t sound like that bad of a name...”

“It does have the same meaning,” Danny hummed thoughtfully, idly rubbing Love’s scales as he contemplated it. “But... I mean, come on, that’s like Hiccup naming Curious  _Toothless_. No offense but it’s just as unoriginal... and not nearly as entertaining.” He snickered.

Dora rolled her eyes. Love chortled,  _“Yes, please do not name me ‘no teeth’.”_

The group fell silent, all of them thinking hard to figure out something that would work. Suddenly Danny lit up. “Oooh! I know!” He jumped up excitedly, “Thuban!”

Everyone blinked blankly at him.

“Thuban?” Sam echoed.

“Weird name,” Tucker tilted his head.

“No, no, hear me out,” Danny waved his hands enthusiastically, “Thuban is a star in the Draco constellation. It’s the oldest known Northern Pole Star, the Egyptians used it to orient the pyramids to face north and everything.”

 _“...Is this a reference to my age?”_  Love asked him somewhat incredulously, if not confusedly.

“Wait, I thought Polaris was the Pole Star,” Sam tilted her head, “is there more than one?”

“The North Star changes every couple thousand years,” Danny nodded, “it has to do with how the Earth rotates. Before Polaris, there were a few others, but Thuban is the oldest--it’s unknown which star preceded it as the North Star.”

Dora blinked slowly, a soft smile spreading across her lips. “I think... it’s rather fitting.” She nodded at the black-haired boy, who beamed at her.

Love stared at the ghostly princess, then looked over at Danny--he was still proud of himself for coming up with the name, looking up at her in excited anticipation.

“Well, what do you think, Love? Wanna be called Thuban?”

Thuban--the oldest Pole Star, a star in a draconic constellation. North Stars were often points of guidance for those on long journeys, a beacon to lead the way home. The draconic star may not have been a Pole Star anymore, but it was still there, shining through the shadows and watching over the those who traveled at night.

Love--the oldest Night Fury, the mother of her species, ancient and old and gone. She had raised many children over her centuries, she had taught them to fight and fly and survive--to live their own lives and know that the nest she had built was always going to be their home. She might not have been alive anymore, but she was still determined to look out for the ones she loved, even if they didn’t know she was there.

The dragon’s eyes lit up in understanding--Dora was right. The name of a guiding star was definitely fitting.

With a toothless smile, she leaned down and nuzzled her halfling, nodding against his chest as he laughed and rubbed his face affectionately against hers.

 _“Yes, yes, yes,”_  she crooned happily,  _“I will be Thuban, She who Loves.”_


	13. Allies

“Doesn’t it ever get confusing, having both the kingdom and your brother’s name be Aragon?”

“...You’re right, Lady Sam,” Dora frowned after a moment of thought, “but Aragon was named for the kingdom, not the other way around. Sometimes I wish my brother had a different name...”

“Who names their kid after a  _place_?” Tucker made a face, looking around the field next to the stables, motioning to the castle as whole as if to make his point. “That’s like, someone decided to name their kid Amity Park.”

“I don’t know, I think Amity by itself would make a good name,” Danny mused, stroking Thuban idly. He grinned sheepishly when Thuban snorted at him. “What, it means like, ‘peaceful harmony’ or something right?”

“Danny I hope you never get to name your own kids,” Sam wrinkled her nose as her lips twisted into a slightly incredulous frown, “you suck at naming things.”

“Do not!” Danny protested, his head snapping over to his black-haired friend as he gestured wildly to the dragon he was sitting next to, “Look, Thuban likes her name!”

“Yeah but that was after you suggested  _Draco_ ,” Tucker reminded him, snickering.

“I’m not  _that_  bad at naming things!”

“Dude, you named a ghost dog Cujo, how unoriginal can you get?” The dark-skinned boy laughed, dodging as Danny shot a weak ecto-ray from his finger. “Not to mention--have you  _seen_  what your parents name their inventions?”

“It must run in the family,” Sam agreed, nodding thoughtfully. “Remember Jazz and ‘Ghost X’? Not to mention the ‘Crate Creep’...”

“And you do have a tendency to make a lot of puns, Sir Phantom...” Dora piped up, trying to hold back her giggles.

“I--” Danny opened his mouth to protest again, but he deflated and pouted in defeat. All of his friends were turning on him! “Aw, c’mon, I can’t really be that bad... right, Thuban?”

The Night Fury rolled her eyes, nudging Danny playfully. Danny gasped in mock appall when she shared a knowing glance with Dora.

“Traitor!” He whined pathetically, his bottom lip jutting out, “Why are you siding with them?”

Thuban made a guttural sound at the back of her throat that could only be described as a laugh. Danny crossed his arms and sulked. “Well at least  _you’re_  amused...” He sighed melodramatically, “On the upside, I’m not nearly as bad at naming things as vikings are. Seriously, who names their kid  _Fish Legs_?”

“Oh, yes,” Dora giggled, “I looked into that a bit, actually! Apparently vikings named their children so horribly because they thought hideous names could frighten off gnomes and trolls!”

“Aaah,” the half-ghost boy exclaimed sarcastically, unfolding his arms to wave his hands in apparent surrender, “I am  _so_  frightened by that kid named after a  _muscle spasm_.”

The group cracked up, and Danny grinned, crossing his arms again triumphantly. “See? I’m totally better at naming things than vikings. I feel a bit bad for Hiccup though. And maybe Toothless.”

Sam snorted, shaking her head. “Yeah, well, you’re not trying to scare off trolls.”

“Hey, if dragons exist, do trolls exist?” Tucker asked curiously, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

“Probably. Yetis existed.” Danny shrugged, uncrossing his arms again and leaning back. Thuban chuffed, shifting so he could use her as a rest.

“Trolls look like big boulders with arms and legs and stringy hair,” Dora informed them nonchalantly, “or at least, the variation I met looked like that. There could have been other kinds.”

“Wouldn’t there have been traces or something of them?” Sam wondered, “Like... bones or fossils or something more than legends and lore?” She paused, looking over at Thuban curiously. “Actually, I’m still wondering how dragons could have existed when there’s absolutely no physical proof they did. I mean, other than Danny’s word and, you know, Thuban and Dora’s existences.”

Dora suddenly shifted uncomfortably, looking down at her lap. “Trolls looked like rocks so I wouldn’t be surprised if no one spotted their... uh, remains,” she said distractedly. “As for dragons.... Well, dragon bones were hollow like birds’ so they could fly. They didn’t last very well against the elements.”

Danny and Thuban exchanged concerned glances--this wasn’t the first time they had seen Dora try to evade that topic. Sam and Tucker seemed to sense it too, because they looked confused.

“Princess Dora, is there something you’re not telling us?” Sam asked tentatively, her brow furrowing.

“No, it’s just...” Dora shrugged uneasily, “I don’t think there is much proof of dragons outside the Nordic islands because most of the dragons seemed to migrate there after being run into extinction in other places. On the mainlands they had been killed off so fast because there was no place to hide that humans couldn’t reach. But the Barbaric Archipelago and its neighbors were separated by the sea, so chasing after dragons there proved difficult, and it allowed the dragons to survive.”

“So the rest of the world just hasn’t found proof because all the proof would be in, what, Norway?” Tucker tilted his head curiously.

“Theoretically, yes...” Dora answered slowly, “but has anyone found proof?”

The trio of human teenagers blinked and exchanged glances. Sam tapped her chin thoughtfully. “I think we would’ve heard about it, if anyone discovered dragons... I mean, they found dinosaurs, I think, but no dragons. I don’t think there were even any dinosaur bones that might’ve been dragon bones at one point--there were no wings in the fossils.”

“You said theoretically,” Danny frowned, “why?”

Dora’s red eyes averted their gaze from his piercing blue, and she chewed her bottom lip. She hesitated, glancing at Thuban briefly before explaining in carefully chosen words, “There is a note in the dragon manual, in which Hiccup wrote about a day in history when all the dragons just... disappeared. There was no explanation and no trace of them, and countless unique species were lost. The population of dragons went from several thousands in number to zero, all overnight.”

Thuban’s eyes widened, and she curved her neck over to the ghostly princess with confusion and concern written all over her expression. Dora smiled apologetically at her and shook her head when Thuban whined softly.

“No, I don’t know what happened to Toothless at that time--though given that you did meet him later, he must have escaped the fate of the other dragons somehow.” Dora sighed, reaching up and stroking Thuban’s cheek gingerly--she felt traces of worry and bemusement, which was already easily read from her face. “Toothless might have known what happened to the dragons, but no human ever did. The dragons’ disappearance is a mystery to this day, even here in the Ghost Zone.”

“So... there isn’t any proof there used to be thousands of dragons... because they all just mysteriously vanished one day?” Tucker asked incredulously.

Sam shook her head in similar disbelief. “It’s like they just... crawled back into the ocean where all life started and didn’t come back out.”

“That’s what Hiccup thought too,” Dora mused, looking back over at them. “You can imagine how devastated he was when the dragons disappeared. They were his life, his passion--I don’t know much about his later life, but I can imagine he spent years looking for the missing dragons.”

“I don’t think he searched for his whole life--Hiccup was the innovative type, I think he would’ve been able to pick up, move on, and advance fine even if his favorite things were gone,” Danny said softly, and Thuban turned to him, nudging him inquisitively. He stroked her neck absently, shaking his head. “As long as Toothless was there, I think Hiccup would have been fine.”

He paused, quiet for a moment. His clear blue eyes met Thuban’s deep peridot green, and he voiced what he knew both of them were thinking, their feelings resonating through his hand on her skin.

“Imagine if Toothless hadn’t been there. Then Hiccup would have searched forever, probably... and that would’ve been a really lonely way to live.”

~~~

Danny yawned as he trudged through the door on Friday, expertly dodging the bucket of Fenton Foamer his father has rigged above the door frame to catch ghosts. He winced as the bucket crashed loudly behind him, then kicked it out of the way to close the door. Judging from the lack of his father’s bellows, he must not have been home at the moment.

“I’m home!” He called as he headed into the kitchen, looking around. Jazz was cooking dinner--chicken and salad, it looked like. “Oh, hey, Jazz.”

“Hey, little brother,” Jazz glanced over her shoulder, “I hope you didn’t eat too much at the Nasty Burger.”

“Nah, the Lunch Lady and the Box Ghost attacked and I lost my appetite.” The black-haired boy rolled his eyes, dropping his backpack next to his chair at the kitchen table as he slid into the seat. He folded his arms across the table, letting his head fall onto them in exasperation. “They’re still ewww, by the way.”

“Now Danny, you know you have no right to judge their relationship,” the carrot-top admonished him, “Just because the Lunch Lady looks far older than the Box Ghost doesn’t mean they can’t find happiness together.”

“They’re both old, but that’s not the gross part okay?” Danny made a disgusted face and shuddered, “I don’t even want to know how they made Box Lunch.”

“It’d be an interesting part of ghost biology to figure out,” Jazz mused, “Perhaps Princess Dorathea would know?”

“Ew, ew, ew, no Jazz. Just--no.” Danny shook his head fiercely, his face becoming even more scrunched up with his disgust. “I don’t even want to know. Nope.”

“Oh come on, it wouldn’t hurt to ask,” Jazz huffed, blowing some of her bangs out of her eyes, “I mean, wouldn’t you want to know if, no matter the form, you could eventually have--”

He threw up his hands and stood up hastily, turning away and slamming his palms over his ears. “Nope! Not listening to this! I’m out! Out!” He said loudly, shaking his head. “I really, really do not need that mental image. Nope. Nnnooope!”

“Danny!”

The blue-eyed teenager stuck his tongue out at his sister, grabbing his backpack and dashing downstairs--he had to go dump the Fenton Thermos anyhow. He let his hands fall to his sides as he descended the stairs, pausing awkwardly at the bottom when he realized his mother was in the lab.

“Oh, uhhh, hi mom...!” He grinned sheepishly, “I thought you were out with Dad?”

“Grocery shopping? Your father isn’t that incompetent, he can handle himself when it comes to grocery shopping,” Maddie chuckled, waving her hand dismissively. She looked up from her work and smiled affectionately. “Welcome home though, sweetie. How was school?”

“It was okay. I didn’t get detention today, so I just hung out with Sam and Tuck at the Nasty Burger,” Danny shrugged, making his way over to her work table and hopping onto a stool. “Err, can I hang out here and--uh, do my homework? Jazz is... yeah...”

Maddie rolled her eyes. “Yes, honey, you can hang out here to avoid your sister. What’s she babbling about this time?” She asked knowingly--Jazz was just like her father in a lot of ways, though she would probably never admit to it. The younger redhead had a tendency to fumble when she was trying to be helpful and babble about her interests without realizing she’d lost her audience, but at least she was level-headed and had common sense like her mother.

“Um, you don’t wanna know.” Danny chuckled weakly, idly rooting around his backpack for his homework. “So, uh... what’re you working on? One of your personal projects?”

Maddie smiled fondly at Danny’s question--they didn’t get to talk lately, what with Danny’s school and the Fenton parents helping Jazz getting ready for college after the summer, and Danny did seem to be preoccupied with something else too. Though given that his grades seemed to be going up, she could only hope that it just meant he was focusing more on schoolwork to get his grades up before he applied to colleges the next year.

“The Fenton Goggles,” the violet-eyed woman held up her red-tinted goggles, “your father and I are working on ways to enhance it so we not only get protection, we can use it to see ghosts that turn invisible too--among other things. I’m thinking of adding a radar in there...”

Danny blinked, perking up. “Wait, so you can use the goggles to, uh, see invisible ghosts?” He asked, a little nervous but also slightly interested too. “They won’t be invisible anymore if you wear these?”

“Well, not precisely, they’ll still be invisible to anyone else. But we put an ectoplasm sensor array in the lenses so we can track the concentration of ectoplasm in the environment. That’ll tell us where the ghost is,” Maddie explained, grinning at Danny’s perceived curiosity, “like a heat sensor! Which we can also use to track ghosts, but ectoplasm sensors work better and don’t require a camera,” she added as an afterthought.

Danny abandoned his backpack near the end of the table, scooting over to have a closer look at the invention. “So, uh, do they work?”

“Of course!” Maddie chirped cheerfully, holding it out to him, “Do you want to try it out, Danny? Just press this switch at the side to turn it on.”

Danny carefully took the googles and held them up to his eyes, looking around the now red-hued room. How did his mother see all the time with these things on? “Uh, how do I know if it’s working?” He asked, remembering to hit the on switch before looking down at his lap--there was a faint green tint to his body, but nothing too noticeable. Danny could rightfully assume that was the ectoplasm sensor picking up on his currently dormant ghost half. He’d have to do something about that.

“Do you see any huge patches of green anywhere?” Maddie laughed, holding out her hand for the device again, “Of course it won’t work in here, there aren’t any ghosts, silly. But it does work, so don’t you worry, sweetie.”

Danny pulled the goggles away from his face, turning off the sensor and handing it back to his mother. “That’s, uh, cool. Think I can get one?” He asked hesitantly.  _If I can just figure out how it works, maybe I can adjust mom’s so she won’t notice anything weird about my human form..._

Maddie blinked in surprise, brushing some of her red-auburn hair behind her ears. It was rare for Danny to take an interest in his parents’ work... then again, most of their inventions were offensive. His interest did pique before whenever they worked on less dangerous inventions, like the Specter Deflector and the Ghost Finder...

Little did Maddie know, this wasn’t Danny’s first time sabotaging one of the Fenton parents’ inventions. He was smarter than they gave him credit for--he did pay attention when his dad rambled about the inventions, and he knew how they worked so he could dodge them and get out of them--and which ones to avoid altogether. This one, however, just required a little tweaking...

Though Danny had never tinkered with the inventions while his parents were in the room with him. That was why he was hesitant.

“Sure, I can put the sensors in your suit’s pair of goggles.” The brunet woman grinned proudly.

Danny froze, not expecting that. “Uh-- _mine_? What do you...”

“Your protective lab gear? I know we don’t make you wear it often but you do remember we had one made for you right?” Maddie quirked an eyebrow, “We couldn’t find your old one, but I made you a new one since I’m pretty sure you grew out of it anyway...”

The black-haired teenager started, looking over in the corner where the HAZMAT suits hung--sure enough, there was a white one and a teal one hanging there for him and Jazz. He looked down at himself, remembering that the white suit he had worn nearly three years prior had never been replaced. But now that he thought about it, if his mother had made a new one to better fit him since he was still growing taller and bigger every year, then did his ghost form adjust the suit automatically to fit his growing body?

He shook his head--he didn’t really want to hurt his brain thinking about that right now. Looking up and clearing his face to hide those thoughts, he grinned at his mother innocently. “I have goggles with those? Are they red like yours? Or black like Dad’s?”

“No, they’re clear,” Maddie chuckled, “mine are red for radiation protection and night vision and your dad’s are tinted to protect him when he’s welding and grinding metal--yours are just plain.” She shook her head fondly, “Why don’t you get them and bring them over here, I’ll fix them up right now. I was going to work on Jack’s next, but since you asked...”

“Sure.” Danny got up, wandering over to the corner and looking through the suit pockets until he found the goggles, pulling them out. He inspected them curiously as he went back over to the work table, smiling to himself--his mother knew his style. They weren’t round and bug-like like hers or blocky and big like his dad’s, but they looked like a cross between safety goggles and aviation goggles--the kind pilots and astronauts would wear.

He handed the goggles over to Maddie, who pulled out some equipment to work on making a new sensor array for them. Danny reached over and grabbed her red pair again, watching her idly out of the corner of her eye. “So you use the computer to program the array chip thing right?" He asked, looking over at the lab computer.

“Yep, then it’s just a matter of connecting it to the video display lenses and the switch.”

Danny lifted an eyebrow curiously, leaning over to the computer and jostling the mouse to turn it on. “Mom, why do the goggles already have video display lenses?” He asked dryly, both incredulous and curious.

“Because we programmed them to flash warnings if radiation got too high.” Maddie giggled, “These goggles were originally made to protect us from radiation after all. The warning was my own addition--you know your father, he wouldn’t realize there were radiation leaks until they were right in front of his eyes. So it doesn’t hurt to be too careful!”

“Yeah, guess so.” Danny scooted his stool over, opening the coding program they used to program most of their inventions. “This the code for the array?” He asked, discreetly hooking up his mother’s goggles to the cord sticking out of the machine for this purpose.

Maddie glanced over, not noticing her goggles in his lap, nodding. She grinned brightly as he went through the code and asked her about each line. “So this line is the one that decides what’s a normal level of ectoplasmic concentration?” Her son pointed at one of the lines in the middle when he got there, “I mean, considering how much ambient ectoplasm we have in Amity Park in general, what with all the ghost activity...”

“Yes, it is higher in Amity Park than it is in normal places, so we have to filter it out, or else we’d be seeing green all the time. The sensor isn’t precise, but it gives us a good idea of where an invisible ghost might be, that’s all.” Maddie explained.

Danny nodded and hummed in understanding, quickly changing the tolerance level to a slightly higher amount--when he looked down and through the red lenses in his lap, he couldn’t see the faint green tint anymore. Still, he had to keep up the pretense of being interested in what the code did, so he went through the rest of it, disconnecting the goggles after he had made the change. He quickly and quietly slipped it back onto the table, his hand darting back to the computer before Maddie looked up again.

“Can I upload the code to the array?” The black-haired teen asked when he’d gotten to the last line, looking over just as Maddie had finished making the sensor and putting it together with the goggles.

Maddie laughed and nodded, handing it over to him. “Sure, honey.” She beamed proudly at her son when he hooked up the goggles be the small port on the side, uploading the code without needing any instructions. It might have been a small thing, and Danny might not have been a straight-A student like his sister, but he was still a Fenton genius whether he knew it or not.

Once the code was uploaded and the cord was disconnected, Danny slipped the goggles onto his head and grinned a dorky, charming smile while striking a pose. “How do I look?”

“Wonderful, darling,” Maddie giggled, going over and kissing him on the forehead, “you look like you’re ready to go fight some ghosts!”

“Mooom.” Danny whined playfully, shaking his head as he pulled the goggles down to let them hang around his neck, “I told you, I don’t want to be a ghost hunter!”

Maddie sighed and pulled back, patting his shoulder. “I know. Still, you wouldn’t have to be afraid of ghosts if you could fight them.” She said gently--she knew Danny was afraid of ghosts. He always ran whenever he saw one, save the few times he’d been forced to fight, like the time the adults of Amity Park got kidnapped by that pirate child. Even then, it was mostly his friends fighting, as far as Maddie knew.

Danny was quiet for a moment, squirming uncomfortably. “I want to be an astronaut, mom. You know that.”

“Yes, well,” the Fenton matron smiled softly, continuing in a bright chirp, “you can fight ghosts in space then. And with those goggles, you’ll be prepared!”

The boy stared at her for a moment before he grinned, shaking his head. “Whatever you say.” He hopped off the stool, and Maddie’s hand fell from his shoulder. “I’m going to go do my homework. Thanks for the goggles, Mom! I’m going to keep them handy.”

“That’s my boy.” Maddie chuckled, waving as he grabbed his backpack and raced upstairs, probably intent on not stopping his sprint so he could dodge his sister.

~~~

Danny grumbled as he held Cujo securely under his arm, flying deep into the Ghost Zone to try putting him somewhere he couldn’t get out of easily--or at least, it would take a while to get out of. The little green pup was more trouble than he was worth whenever he got out--especially when Valerie kept going after him because of that deep-seated grudge of hers.

“Why can’t you just stay in the Ghost Zone, huh, buddy?” Danny sighed, holding the puppy in front of him. “Seriously, I’m not your master or anything, why do you keep following me?”

“I would think that he would say otherwise,” came a familiar voice behind him, and he whipped around, tense.

He relaxed when he realized it was just Dora. “Oh. Hey, Princess Dora--what’re you doing way out here?”

“I was on my way to visit Sidney Poindexter to discuss some political matters,” Dora tilted her head, “and you?”

“Trying to make sure Cujo doesn’t cause a mess again,” Danny sighed, looking down at the green dog as he yipped cheerfully at the dragon princess. “I had to chase him all over Amity Park--thank goodness my mom made these, it would’ve been hard to keep track of him otherwise.” He tapped the goggles hanging loosely around his neck--they were useless in the Ghost Zone but he hadn’t had time to take them off and put them away before coming in. He let his hand fall limp to his side, shrugging. “Anyway. What’d you mean when you said he’d say otherwise?”

“He is a guard dog, is he not? I think you’re his new obsession--he’s made it his job to guard you.” Dora giggled.

“Great,” Danny rolled his eyes in fond exasperation, “just what I  _don’t_  need. Geez, no wonder I couldn’t get him to guard the portal!”

Dora blinked. “You tried to train him to guard the portal?”

“Well, yeah. You and your knights can’t do it all the time, and who better to guard than a guard dog, right?” Danny shrugged helplessly, tucking the dog under his armpit again, “I’ve been trying to train him for months, but he just hops right back out of the portal to come find me whenever I leave him near it, even if it’s DNA-locked on the outside.”

The green-skinned ghost shook her head. “Well, perhaps if you find someone to convince him to stay--I don’t think he speaks English as we do. He’s not as fast a learner as Thuban.”

“Heh. Think Thuban could talk some sense into him?” Danny smiled wearily, idly petting Cujo as he wagged his tail and vibrated happily under Danny’s arm.

“Possibly, but I believe she’s out exploring right now, so she’s not back in Aragon.” Dora informed him with a shrug, “I can help you find her, but only after I finish up my business with Sidney.”

“Oh. Okay,” Danny shrugged, “want me to come with?”

“It would be a delight to have your company, Sir Phantom.” Dora grinned brightly, motioning with her hand as she led the way, “I believe you’re on friendly terms with Sidney?”

“Sort of, we talked out that misunderstanding of our first meeting last Christmas, so I think we’re good,” Danny nodded, adjusting his hold on Cujo as he followed Dora through the Ghost Zone, “but how do  _you_  know him? I mean, I think I saw you two working together before during the Pariah Dark thing, but...”

“I met him when I was running away from my brother, before,” Dora explained, “on one of my excursions, I came across his domain and he stayed with me for a little while to avoid those bullies in his school. We are somewhat friends--we sympathized as ghosts who were stuck in realms of frozen time.”

“Oh. So what’re you going to go talk to him about? You said this was for a political... matter or whatever.” The half-ghost boy blinked in confusion, “What’s a kid like Poindexter got to do with politics?”

“Sidney is like me, Sir Phantom--he lords over a domain which harbors many souls.” Dora giggled at Danny’s gaping expression, “You’ve been there before, surely you noticed?”

“Well, yeah, but I just thought...” Danny trailed off, not exactly sure where that sentence was supposed to go. “I mean, your people died with you and were bound to you, so I got that. But the class of ‘58? I’m pretty sure a lot of them are still alive, and even if they weren’t, why would they be in Poindexter’s Casper High?”

“Well, Sidney wasn’t a domain lord to begin with--his world was just a time loop that he was stuck in,” Dora explained, “but as more and more people from his memories died in the Real World, their guilt manifested their souls in his loop and they became stuck in it too, until you broke them out of it.”

Danny blinked. “Me? You mean with that incident with my locker and his mirror?” He paused for a moment, absorbing her words. “Their guilt?” He echoed, unsure.

“As I’m sure you know by now, Sir Phantom, deaths can change lives--absence open eyes and mourning helps one realize how different things are thereafter. No matter how friendless or lonely Sidney was, his disappearance from the lives of others did not go unnoticed.” Dora shook her head solemnly, “I do not know the circumstances of his death, but I know he was bullied in life--and his tormentors must have felt so bad afterward they regretted it for the rest of their lives. Sidney’s death meant something to them--they knew they did him wrong, and they became ghosts because they never got to right that wrong.”

“So, what, now they’re just hanging around Sidney’s lair... domain place and trying to make it right?” Danny’s eyebrows furrowed. “But they hurt Poindexter in the past, didn’t they...? Would he even like being around them?”

“They already suffered for the choices they had made--they relived all the terrible things they’d done when they were stuck in Sidney’s time loop. From the way Sidney explained it, they’re now his friends and they do their best to make up for their mistakes--basically, they serve him the way my people serve me.” The dragon princess slowed down as the black-and-white version of Danny’s high school came into view, turning to face him. “Thus, to answer your original question, Sidney is essentially a lord over a small faction of ghosts, and therefore, worthy of being treated as such. I’m here to make an official alliance with him.”

Danny blinked slowly. “Uh. So he’s like a prince or something. Okay... Since I’m your knight and all, what does that mean I have to do?”

“Just don’t make a fool of yourself, we’re representing my kingdom after all.” Dora gave him a stern look, “And Sidney is also my friend, so please don’t start trouble?”

“It’s not like I fight ghosts all the time because I  _want_  to,” Danny pouted, reaching down and scratching Cujo behind the ears, “You’ll behave too, right Cujo?”

Cujo barked, wagging his tail obliviously. Danny chuckled, turning back to his princess with a nod. “Alright, I’ll follow your lead.”

Dora nodded, making her way into the school.

~~~

“Well, that didn’t turn out as bad as I thought,” Danny mused as he flew through the Ghost Zone with Dora beside him--Cujo bounced happily on his other side. “But let me see if I got this now. You’re allies with him, so now if you ever need his aid in a time of war or something, he’ll help you?”

Dora nodded, “Yes. And by extension, that also makes him  _your_  ally.”

“Well he was sort of my ally anyway--y’know, after the whole bullying thing got cleared up and he realized I was more like him than I was like Dash.” Danny shrugged, “I mean, he doesn’t come to Amity Park regularly to attack me, at least, so I count that as good in my books.”

“While that is true, Sir Phantom, being on good terms with people isn’t the same as allying with them. You must make your relationship explicit--otherwise, when you need help, asking for it will be like asking a stranger for a favor. By allying, you guarantee that they will help you when you ask, and in return you help them when they do.” Dora stated in a very matter-of-fact voice, as if reciting from a book. “It is why you can freely ask me to help you guard your portal, and why I was able to ask you to help me with Thuban when we first met her.”

“Oh. I guess so.” Danny blinked, “Huh. Got any other allies I don’t know about?”

“Pandora, and Chief Frostbite and the people of the Far Frozen,” Dora replied easily, “but those are only the other domain lords.”

“You have allies that aren’t domain lords?” Danny blinked, thinking about the ghosts Dora had listed. “Ah, I guess I know what you mean... Wulf is definitely an ally but he’s sort of a loner. And I guess Clockwork too.”

Cujo yipped at him as Dora slowed down to stare at him, and Danny chuckled at the ghost dog, not noticing her red-eyed gaze. “Okay, you too, Cujo--I guess you’re an ally too. Oh, and Thuban.”

“...Did you say Clockwork?”

Danny blinked, looking up and realizing that Dora wasn’t beside him anymore. He slowed to a stop too and turned to face her, ignoring that Cujo was running in happy circles around them. “Uh... you know what they say! Clockwork’s on my side, right?”

Dora’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion when she saw Danny’s unsure expression. “Clockwork is one of the most powerful, mysterious ghosts in existence--rumors say he’s more powerful than Pariah Dark, and that he was once King Pariah’s mentor. Many of the younger ghosts think he is a myth.” She frowned deeply, “No one has ever met him, not I nor Aragon--even Chief Frostbite has not. Many have only heard of him from the Observants and legends.”

She paused to take a deep breath she didn’t need, her eyes wide and disbelieving. She continued with utter incredulity, “And you’re saying he’s your  _ally_?”

“Um.” Danny gulped nervously, unsure of what to say. Was he not supposed to tell people about Clockwork’s existence...? Well, he probably would have stopped time to warn him or scold him if he was, so maybe it was okay to tell the truth. “Sort of? He’s more of a... reclusive associate, I guess.”

“You’ve met him, though,” Dora gasped. “What is he like?”

“I dunno, he talks in riddles a lot and acts all... all-knowing all the time,” Danny shrugged helplessly. Cujo, sensing his nervousness, stopped running around and looked up at him, tilting his head curiously. The half-ghost boy grinned and reached down to scratch him on the head, and he barked cheerfully. “Though once I hugged him and he looked surprised, so maybe he’s not entirely all-knowing.”

“Omniscient, Sir Phantom, that is the word for ‘all-knowing’.” Dora chuckled, shaking her head and motioning with her hand, continuing their flight. “It’s still a marvel that you’ve met him, Sir Phantom--and made an ally of him. I’m impressed.”

“I guess,” Danny smiled wryly, pushing Cujo along before he started following again, “I’ll see if I can introduce you sometime.”

“Really? That would be wonderful, Sir Phantom!” The ghostly princess giggled.

“Yeah, but that’s for another day,” Danny laughed lightly, “Weren’t we on our way to finding Thuban?”

“Ah, yes, of course! I believe she went this way, so shall we go look?”

~~~

Dora and Danny found Thuban near the Far Frozen, laying in the familiar snowy lands to relax after a long day of exploring. After setting down and exchanging greetings, Danny introduced his draconic friend to his canine one.

“Thuban, this is Cujo. Cujo, Thuban.” Danny grinned as he set the small green puppy down on the ground. Cujo pawed at the snow beneath him curiously, then looked up at the inky black dragon and sniffed at her as she lowered her head to sniff back. “Play nice now, okay?”

 _“Hmm,”_  Thuban hummed,  _“what a strange little creature.”_

“Have you never seen a dog before, Thuban?” Dora giggled.

Cujo yipped, licking Thuban’s snout in a friendly manner after he apparently determined she was a playmate and not an enemy. Thuban snorted in surprise, wrinkling her nose.  _“No,”_  she shook her head,  _“but I will assume this ‘Cujo’ is one. Is he another friend of Danny’s?”_

“Yes,” Dora smiled, watching Cujo bark up at Thuban curiously, “though he’s somewhat troublesome--he keeps escaping the Ghost Zone and causing a ruckus in Sir Phantom’s home town.”

 _“Ah.”_  Thuban nudged the small creature with her forepaw, and he rubbed up against her in a nuzzle.  _“He must be like a Drakin. Small but mischievous.”_

“Hey Thuban,” Danny spoke up, “I was hoping you could talk to Cujo somehow--I’m not sure if it’ll work, but I’ve been trying to get Cujo to stop following me around and guard the portal for me on this side. I don’t think he understands me much, though.”

The Night Fury queen quirked an eye at him.  _“Ah, so you want me to talk to him? Is this because we’re both ‘animals’?”_  She huffed, rolling her eyes. She shifted her laying position, looking down at where Cujo was sniffing at her in exploration.

“Please just try, Thuban?” Dora asked, “Sir Phantom just wants to make sure he stays on this side of the portal--it’s not exactly safe for him in the Real World, and I’m sure he doesn’t mean to cause so much trouble to the one he deems his master...”

The dragon sighed and nodded, curving her neck around and nosing at the green ghost dog again. She sent a wave of emotion toward him through her empathetic powers, watching as he yelped at the attempt at communication.

Thuban often spoke a simple version of the draconic tongue for Dora, but speaking to Cujo was like communicating in only the most necessary words.  _“Friend, little one, listen,_ pay attention to me _, listen,”_  she had said to him, using brief flashes of the emotions she usually used to communicate with young dragon hatchlings.

 _“Large scaly thing that smells like Boy I Play With!”_  Cujo replied in his surprise, his emotions a strange mix of awe, caution, affection, and confusion. He ran up to her head and jumped up a little, putting his front paws on her face curiously.  _“Pay attention? Not Boy, but smell like Boy I Like. Who?”_

Thuban rumbled with slight amusement, and Dora giggled nearby, looking on as the two creatures tried to talk. Cujo not only sounded like a child, Thuban thought, but he acted like one too.  _“Friend, like Boy,”_  she purred in affirmation, glancing at Danny, and Cujo followed her gaze, his tongue rolling out of his mouth lazily as he barked happily at the boy. Danny smiled a little and waved, and Thuban growled softly to regain Cujo’s attention before he ran over, changing her tone to match her gentle reprimand.  _“Boy You Like is frustrated. You do not listen, he does not like that.”_

Cujo jumped back, big red eyes looking up at the black dragon once more. His ears pressed downward and he whined,  _“Boy not like? Sorry sorry sorry sorry.”_  He lowered his head in shame, desperate confusion entering his tone as he peeked up again,  _“Why, why?”_

Danny’s eyebrows furrowed in worry. What was Thuban telling Cujo? The poor pup looked sad now... his tail had stopped wagging, even.

 _“You do not listen,”_  Thuban repeated through her empathy, nudging him gingerly with her paw,  _“Boy You Like wants you to listen. He worries; he loves you.”_

Cujo perked up at that, tilting his head as he whimpered softly,  _“I love Boy I Like. Why worry? Worry no. I protect. Scary people hurt Boy I Like. Here, big unknown place, always; I protect.”_

 _“Boy You Like protects_ you _,”_  Thuban emphasized with a grunt,  _“that is why he worries. In the big unknown place, you are not safe. Boy You Like lives there, so he is safe. When you are in the big place, Boy feels frustration, worry.”_

 _“No protect in big place, because Boy worries?”_  Cujo’s emotions were lost and confused.  _“Boy safe? No help?”_

 _“No, Boy does not need help,”_  Thuban nodded, glancing up at the green sky of the Ghost Zone as she nudged him again,  _“Boy You Like wants you to stay here, safe. Listen to Boy, protect this place.”_

The ghost dog pouted a little, looking over at Danny. Dora was whispering to him now, explaining Thuban’s half of the conversation.  _“But I go to big place to play. Boy in big place, always. If no big place... Boy no play?”_

 _“Boy You Like comes here many times. He comes to... play with me. You can come play with me too.”_ Thuban offered with a small smile,  _“Boy You Like, you, and I can play together. If you listen and stay here, we will play.”_

Cujo lit up happily at that, jumping up to her and licking her nose again, much to her dismay.  _“Okay! We play! Fun! Happy happy happy!”_

Thuban sighed in fond exasperation, looking over at Dora and Danny.  _“Well, hopefully I’ve done a good job. He..._ should _listen to you now, halfling.”_

Dora nodded, giggling a little after she translated for Danny. “If not... it seems he’ll at least listen to  _you_ , Thuban,” she mused.

“Well either way, thanks, Thuban.” Danny grinned, reaching up to her and petting her forehead. Cujo jumped up on his leg, and he laughed, crouching down to pet him too. “Okay, boy, we’ll play--but first we gotta show you where Thuban’s staying, that way you know where we’ll be most of the time.”

Cujo barked excitedly, running in circles around the boy until he accidentally tripped into a pile of snow. Dora laughed, shaking her head as she knelt to help get him out of it. “Alright, I’ll lead the way then.”

Danny raised his hand to stop her. “Actually, while we’re in this area, I think I’ll go grab the Infi-map from Frostbite,” he explained at her questioning look, “it’s been a while since I took Thuban to the viking era, so I think a quick trip is in order.”

Thuban perked up, her green eyes bright with excited anticipation.  _“Really?”_

“You can’t exactly judge the lengths of your trips, Sir Phantom,” Dora warned him, standing up and cradling Cujo in her arms. He yipped thankfully at her, shaking his head to clear the rest of the snow out of his fur. “You’d best prepare in case it turns out to be a...  _not_ -so-quick trip.”

Danny nodded. “Going back out to the Real World will take too much time. Think you can lend me a bag when we get to your domain?”

“I can prepare something,” the ghostly princess nodded in affirmation.

“Cool. You guys go ahead then, I’ll meet you over there.”

~~~

“You sure you don’t want to come?” Danny asked, already sitting on Thuban’s back, the satchel Dora lent him slung over his shoulder.

“I’m sure--I can’t just leave my kingdom without advance notice, Sir Phantom,” Dora sighed, “besides, someone has to make sure Cujo doesn’t follow you.”

“Yeah, that’d be disastrous,” Danny snickered. He waved a little at the small green dog, who hopped up and down at Dora’s feet, trying to figure out what was going on.

“You’ll be fine. You’ve gotten far better at understanding Thuban without me, so I don’t think there will be much communication issue,” the green-skinned princess assured him, “I just hope you don’t get stuck in the past too long, like last time.”

“Hey, Clockwork’s on my side, remember? Don’t worry, we’ll be fine.” Danny grinned, “Okay, we’ll be off then. See you later!”

Thuban roared her own farewell, spreading her wings in preparation as Danny unrolled the Infi-map.

“Good luck, Thuban, Sir Phantom!” Dora waved, and the domain of Aragon sped away as Danny activated the map.

Thuban closed her eyes, thinking about her babies--her son and daughter, and even the rest of her pack mates that she used to call her children. The Ghost Zone wind whooshed past her ears like she was stuck in a whirlwind, and as soon as the wind abruptly halted, she opened her eyes.

The sky was bright blue and the sun was out, and they had come through a portal that had hidden itself above the clouds. Thuban shook her head, clearing the dizziness that often came with the Infi-map’s disorienting pull, then looked over her shoulder to see Danny stowing the map away in the satchel.

“Okay, Thuban! Let’s see where we are, huh?” He grinned, patting her neck. She nodded in agreement, turning forward and diving through the clouds. “So who are we looking for this time?”

He waited for a moment, taking in a wave of curiosity and something else that felt like hope and accomplishment, and he took a moment to interpret the emotions before he responded.

“Okay, I know that ‘curious’ feeling is usually associated with Toothless. So that’s not weird. We just gotta find Berk then, I guess,” Danny nodded thoughtfully, “I dunno who that other emotion is... but I’m guessing it’s your daughter.”

Thuban warbled affirmatively, looking down. There was a large island beneath them--it was covered in green grass and trees, and there was a lake hidden within its cliffs. She narrowed her eyes, however, when she spotted what looked like a small village nestled on the cliffs near the beach.

Danny felt the suspicion and curiosity spike through him, and he looked down in surprise. “Huh. What’s that...?” He mumbled. He pulled his Fenton Goggles up, turning on the ectoplasm sensor before patting Thuban’s neck and telling her, “Let’s check it out, but turn invisible, just in case.”

Thuban grunted in agreement, and the two of them vanished from the visible spectrum. She coasted downward, circling the island and eyeing the small settlement as they got closer--there were eight huts and a few other odd structures that looked like perches and domes. She could smell a handful of living beings down there--and as they got closer, she could spot one or two humans moving between the buildings, accompanied by  _dragons_. 

Danny gasped quietly in awe. He spied a purple-gold Monstrous Nightmare walking beside a young man carrying a huge basket of fish, and there was an old Gronckle napping next to one of the huts. He had only heard about dragons living peacefully with humans from Dora and her books--he never imagined it to look so...  _normal and boring_. The dragons looked like they were completely at home in the human settlement, and the buildings seemed more like hangars and stables built to accommodate the dragons’ size and give them perches to rest on.

They slowed to a hover several meters above the huts, but before Danny could tell Thuban to find a place to land so they could explore this quiet homestead, a roar caught their attention. Their heads snapped up at the sound of a distant, wailing call. They weren’t the only ones--the other dragons and the humans below them looked up at the sound too.

Danny quickly glanced through the goggle lenses to the green mass before him, feeling his dragon companion tense beneath him. He could make out the shapes of her ears standing straight up, alert, and he wondered for a moment if the call had been an alpha call. The idea was quickly dismissed, however, as the roar came again and he felt shock and phantom recognition shooting through his veins--Thuban apparently knew that roar somehow.

Was it a distress call? Was there a dragon in danger?

Without needing a second thought after that realization, Danny shouted, “Thuban, go!”

Thuban didn’t need to be told twice, shooting off toward the other side of the island where the call had come from.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I started trying to figure out an actual timeline for this (I’ve just kind of been going on an arbitrary timeline until now). The How To Train Your Dragon timeline is, of course, going to be jumping around due to the nature of how the DP characters are going to be visiting it. But for the DP side of things, the only thing I know for sure is that Phantom Planet never happened, but otherwise everything else did and Danny has all of his powers.
> 
> Danny’s already mentioned “two years ago” a lot here, because I was originally thinking he was 17, but then I remembered Jazz has been mentioned in this fic (and appears to be still at home) so she must still be in high school. So I decided that Danny is 16 (though his 17th birthday is very near) and it’s near the end of the school year--Jazz will be graduating and in the following year she’ll be in college, and Danny would be entering junior year (and though this won’t be of great consequence, I think I should mention then that for the sake of this timeline, Claw of the Wild happened in the same summer as Reality Trip).
> 
> Since Danny is 16, I’m going with the idea that “two years ago” is when he met Dora, but it was just under  _three_  years ago that he got his powers--which in this fanfic would have been in the summer just before high school started, with his birthday just before that (in July).
> 
> Other than that, this is the first chapter I’ve actually written since  _Race to the Edge_  came out! And, if it’s not obvious by now, the setting of this latest trip into the past is going to be Dragon’s Edge. If you haven’t watched RttE yet, don’t worry, there won’t be any spoilers here, I’m just borrowing (and slightly modifying) the setting to match the timeline Danny and Thuban have dropped into.
> 
> This chapter isn’t really beta’d but I did give it a few look-overs to try catching typos. If you see any, please let me know!
> 
> PS. Cujo was a bit of an unexpected surprise in this chapter, but let me know what you thought of him here. I hope I made it clear enough that Thuban isn’t actually talking to Cujo, but reading his emotions and trying to respond accordingly with her own--and she can only do it through touch, if that’s not obvious, which is why Cujo’s speech is somewhat primitive (or at least, I tried to make it like that). Let me know if it was confusing! I’ll try and clear it up before the next chapter and let you know if I make edits.
> 
> \---
> 
> EDIT 8/17/2015:
> 
> Put a note on my profile, but due to reasons, I am leaving. This story is up for adoption, this is an open invitation. Sorry I can't respond anymore, but thank you for reading and commenting, it means so much to me.


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